


Fading Ink

by FaeMytho



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Lil angsty, M/M, Slow Burn, everyone's having a bad day, forget that theres angst everywhere, multiple destruction of aus, this is so badly written im cringing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-21 12:54:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 19,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9550073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeMytho/pseuds/FaeMytho
Summary: The Multiverse is fragile.Even the slightest shift in the fabric of time, even the slightest wrinkle, could cause everything to disappear.If one universe collapses, so do many more.But as long as most of them are healthy, the Protector is alive.The Multiverse depends on Balance.But where no Balance exists, no Protector can live.Just how many universes did the anti-void take with it when it collapsed?Certainly enough, because the Protector seems to be dying.How ironic is it, that the Protector must ask the Destroyer to save the Multiverse?





	1. Prologue

Time was endless.

Meaningless, in some cases.

Time would never stop.

To some, time was an enemy. To a select few, a game. To others, pointless.

But time would never stop regardless.

A vast white empty void that seemed to go on forever was not any exception. In fact, time worked differently there.

A pocket dimension.

It's sole inhabitant called it the anti-void.

There were ways to travel to the anti-void, and away from the anti-void. Only few could do this, including the one who lived there.

And two of his worst enemies.

Never a good thing.

The same old white empty space seemed to distort with color that wasn't meant to be there, and something that might be described as a rip in space seemed to, well, rip open.

The anti-void's inhabitant returned, dragging someone with him. The rip closed, patching itself like it had never been there at all.

The white space now had two to call it's own.

One went by Error.

The other was recognized by the anti-void as Underswap Sans.

Error liked to call him 'Blueberry'.


	2. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events of Ask-Error
> 
> *wiggles*

"lEt's play a gamE. it's callEd 'lEavE thE bluEbERRy in thE anti-vOid until hE bEgs mE tO cOmE back'!"

Error didn't bother to look back at Underswap Sans when he left, closing the portal he'd opened.

In his blind fit of rage, he'd gone to Outertale, a place that was always calming to him.

He sighed to himself, a sound that was similar to static.

"th-that... STUPID BLUeBerrY!" He screeched and grabbed his head, trying to drown out the voices that told him to go back, the voices that were yelling, the voices that were wondering what was going on, or what would happen next.

Error screamed again, a sound that echoed through the desolate empty sky that surrounded him. He fell to his knees, pain filling his head and anger filling his soul.

And he cried, falling to the ground.

Unconscious.

~~~~

When the voices first spoke to him, Sans thought he might've spent too much time alone in the anti-void. They kept calling him 'Blueberry' too, just like Error had.

It was like some metaphorical dam had burst, and he was flooded with their voices, their questions, their concerns, their excitement, fear, hope, and anger.

It was almost too much.

Sans could see why Error had gone 'over the edge' per say.

After a while, he started to ignore them, and they eventually left, leaving nothing but ringing silence behind.

He'd managed to save his human's soul, but what was the point?

He'd never get out of here, and there was no way he would kill someone to do it.

Call him childish, but Sans felt that he was, by not killing the human, fighting back at Error in his own way.

It was a silly thought, but Sans held on to it firmly.

Even if it would set things back to normal, even if he could find a way out of here, he would never kill the human.

Even if it meant…

Never seeing Papy again…

So be it.


	3. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooo spooky

The Doodle Sphere was a curious concept.

Not quite part of the void, but not quite part of anything else either.

Rather, it acted as a bridge between the void and the universes, letting anyone who entered it go anywhere they wished.

Few could enter.

But there was almost always one in the Doodle Sphere, one who called it home. He had no timeline of his own, but he was selfless, protecting the thing he'd lost before.

He knew the unspoken rules of the multiverse.

He was not to interfere with the timelines, nor was he to appear in them.

Despite these unspoken rules, and his constant breaking of them, the timelines were his, and he was theirs.

They did not exist without each other.

He was theirs, and they were his.

That was how it was.

~~~~

The blurry shining the stars in Outertale greeted his eyes, and he sat up, rubbing his head.

How long had he been out?

Heh...

To be honest with himself, Error had lost all concept of time long ago.

The voices had dulled down to faint whispers, and Error forced himself to stand.

As he walked along the starry path of what appeared to be Outertale's Waterfall, he savored the rare moment of quiet. The voices usually never went away, but only rarely did they ever get that bad.

Even though his head was still ringing, and he felt exhausted, he forced himself to keep walking.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and plopped down on the side of the star path, his feet hanging down in open space.

The voices slowly grew in volume, and he focused on his hands, where he was attempting to knit something.

Attempting.

With a frustrated yell, Error flung the needles away from him, string still wrapped around them.

He couldn't even focus on something as mindless as knitting!

One of the voices spoke up, and Error lifted his head, staring out at the stars and listening.

He didn't have anything better to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord have mercy I forgot how short these chapters are.


	4. 3

It was getting worse.

Sans tried to keep a sense of normalcy in his daily life now, but being stuck in the anti-void was far from normal.

That didn't stop him from trying to sleep, or explore, or do anything but just sit there.

But it was getting worse and worse everyday.

He tried to ignore the occasional glitching of his body, but it was hard when there was nothing else to look at but the empty white space and the human's soul.

Then, the voices came back.

They forced him to think about it, their questions mostly involving the glitching that was slowly becoming a part of Sans's life.

'why is this happening?'

'Blueberry what will you do now?'

'Blueberry'

'Blueberry'

'Blueberry'

'BLUEBERRY'

He heard screaming as he fell, and when he hit the ground he realized that the screaming had been his own.

~~~~

The being of the Doodle Sphere looked up.

He felt something.

Something had fallen.

Something strong had fallen.

A sudden onslaught of pain overwhelmed him, and he gasped, fighting back tears.

Whatever had fallen...

Whatever had fallen had taken a lot with it.

He could feel them, hear them screaming as their universes were torn apart.

And he was screaming too.

His shrieks echoed around the Doodle Sphere, and he watched through teary eyes as door after door shattered.

The doors that led to the alternate universes.

He curled up into a ball, unable to watch, and crying desperately at the pain, the agony of countless universes dying.

Finally...

Finally, the pain stopped...

Ink look up, tear streaks lining his face with black.

There were still hundreds of doors left, and the shattered pieces of the destroyed doors remained where they had once been a whole.

Shuddering with faint pain, Ink moved over to one of the doors.

Aftertale.

Shaking, Ink pulled his paintbrush out and painted over the broken pieces.

But the paint dissipated before even touching the broken door.

Another tear streaked down his face, and he couldn't understand.

Moving on to another shattered door, Ink tried again.

Fusiontale stayed broken.

Why couldn't he...?

Why couldn't he revive these universes?!

No...

No, this...

T H I S  C O U L D N ' T  B E  H A P P E N I N G 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aftertale belongs to CQ
> 
> Fusiontale belongs to Nomidot


	5. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh

Error was bored.

He could confidently say that he was bored.

There wasn't much to do here, and Error had never stayed long enough to figure that out.

Error stood, standing on the edge of the star path.

Maybe, just maybe, he could-

No.

No, he couldn't go back, he'd told Blueberry that he wouldn't.

Besides, he might try to manipulate him again.

Error wouldn't let that happen.

Ever again.

So then, if he couldn't go back, what could he do?

Well, he certainly wasn't bored of the stars. He'd probably never get bored of those.

It was a shame that he eventually had to destroy this universe. Maybe he'd save Outertale for last.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's what he'd do.

Sighing, Error looked up at the sky.

Dare he say that Outertale was-?

Before he could finish his thought, an enraged shout echoed across the empty space, and Error only had time to look around before a splatter of paint washed over him.

~~~~

It was dark, dark, darkness pressed in all around him.

Did he remember?

What had happened?

The last thing he'd done was a faded memory, and now that he was thinking about it, he couldn't even remember his own name.

The only thing that was clear to him was the want for freedom.

The want to help.

His fuzzy memory pieced them together.

The want to help to free.

To free who?

His blurry eyes looked around, focusing on a glowing pinprick of red. Moving closer, he realized it was a human soul. It seemed to shy away from him, and he panicked.

"no, wait! don't go... i'm hERE to hELp."

The soul shivered.

He didn't remember his voice being that... glitchy.

What did his voice used to sound like?

The soul seemed to pause, and then, it bounced up and down in midair in front of him.

Recognition.

The soul recognized him, but from where?

"human? whERE aRE wE? what happEnEd?"

The soul didn't answer, moving around in a joyful manner.

He didn't think the soul could tell him much of anything.

Another faded memory surfaced, of pure white.

Of voices.

Yelling something.

Wasn't that his name?

"BLUEBERRY, Right? isn't that mY namE?"

 


	6. 5

He rarely ever got angry.

Mind, he barely ever felt anything but contentment, but what had just happened had thrown a bit more than just one emotion back at him.

Ink had to blink back tears of frustration, tears of pain, and tears of sadness.

These universes were his. He belonged to them, and they to him. If one of them was destroyed, he would feel it.

The pain from one universe was likeable to a tiny pinch.

The pain from countless universes was more like having several of your limbs snapped off, except that all the pain focused on your soul.

The universes were his source of magic. If all of the alternate universes were destroyed, his magic would be completely gone.

And a monster with no magic would fall down.

The pieces of these shattered universes floated around him, and he had to fight to keep his tears in.

Aftertale, Fusiontale, Poketale, Mythotale, Underspell, Spectertale, Hypertale…

And so many more.

Ink curled up in a ball again, his thoughts racing, and adrenaline coursing through him because of the stabbing agony that he'd just gone through.

Who did he know that destroyed universes?

Ink's expression hardened.

With a snap, he teleported away…

Only to reappear back in the Doodle Sphere.

Ink stared at his hand in astonishment.

For some reason, he couldn't warp to the anti-void.

Ink frowned, and the Doodle Sphere seemed to whisper.

"Error Sans." He spoke, staring at his hand.

The Doodle Sphere seemed to whisper again, and Ink perked up.

With another snap, he warped away.

The stars greeted him, but for once Ink wasn't focused on their twinkling light.

The object of his attention was just ahead.

Just standing there, lost in thought.

But that didn't matter.

"ERROR!"

~~~~

When the paint attack splattered him from head to toe, it started to harden into something that was definitely not paint.

Battle reflexes swooped in, and Error shook the excess paint off, raising his arm and shooting strings at the one who had attacked him.

He wasn't going to question who it was, he was just going to question why.

He hadn't destroyed anything lately.

Maybe the other was just pissed off because he was in Outertale.

Whatever the reason, he'd been attacked, and Error wasn't going to let that go.

His strings latched onto the other skeleton, holding him immobile while he scraped the rest of the paint [now hardened into bricks] off his body.

"hEya ink."

"Error, if you don't let me go, RIGHT NOW-" Ink yelled, silencing himself with a groan of pain.

"yOu'll what, yOu littlE glitch?" Error mocked him, not even questioning why Ink had stopped.

Ink growled, looking up at Error with red colored pupils.

"You know what you did! You destroyed countless universes! All at once! Our feud has gone on long enough, but you went too far this time!" Ink yelled again, his pupils rapidly changing shapes, but staying the same color.

Error blinked.

"i havEn't dEstROyEd anything, yOu rainbOw asshOlE."

"You're the ONLY one who destroys universes! Who else could have done it?!" Ink huffed angrily.

Error frowned.

But before he could retort, the world shook.

Error's eyes widened, and when Ink's horrified gaze met his, he knew exactly what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh sht  
> Poketale to inkedaway
> 
> Underspell to elihedgie95
> 
> Spectertale to CQ
> 
> Hypertale to hypertale-au
> 
> And Mythotale is mine <3


	7. 6

"so, human, how do you sUggEst wE gEt out of hERE?" His voice cracked, glitching in an unpleasant way. When he spoke, his voice felt normal, but didn't sound at all like what he thought it should sound like.

 

It was a strange feeling.

 

Blueberry watched the human soul zoom around in the darkness, it's glow the only source of light in this dark void.

 

The Void.

 

That's where he was.

 

"that's whERE wE aRE!" He shouted suddenly, making the soul stop and hover in midair.

 

Blueberry grinned excitedly, looking around the Void.

 

"human, comE hERE, i havE an idEa!"

 

As soon as the human soul came close, Blueberry's magic reacted, turning it orange and holding it in place.

 

With a snap, they disappeared.

 

Blueberry didn't remember much about who he was before he was an error.

 

But he did know that this human and their timeline were probably the key.

 

Underswap should give him some answers.

 

When he reappeared in the Snowdin of Underswap, the nearest monster stopped and stared wide eyed.

 

He happened to be skeleton.

 

Blueberry waved to him cheerfully, walking past him and towards the house at the and of the town.

 

"S-Sans?"

 

A hand rested itself on his shoulder, and Blueberry froze.

 

"i don't know who you'RE taLking aBoUt."

 

He was suddenly spun around and face to face with this unfamiliar skeleton. He almost seemed to be crying.

 

"Sans, it's me, it's Papyrus! Oh God, what did he do to you?" The skeleton pulled him into a hug, and Blueberry stiffened again, careful not to crush the human soul he held in his hand.

 

"i'm soRRY, BUt mY namE isn't sans. mY namE is BLUEBERRY." Blueberry pulled himself gently out of the hug, smiling up kindly at Underswap's Papyrus.

 

"Oh God..." He heard Papyrus whisper.

 

Blueberry turned and started to walk away again, but he was roughly turned back around.

"Sans, please! It's me! It's Papyrus! I'm your brother!"

 

~~~~

 

The sky was shattering.

 

He was in the worst possible position he'd ever been in in his life.

 

Wrapped up and at the mercy of the destroyer, and the universe falling to pieces around them.

 

Perfect.

 

Ink was still furious though.

 

"Error!"

 

"i'm nOt dOing anything." Error snapped back, just as angry.

 

Ink took a precious moment to think. He could feel the pain of this universe shattering, and when he looked at Error, Ink had to admit the other had a point.

 

Error wasn't doing anything but just standing there.

 

Behind Error, the distant hills and trees of Outertale's Snowdin completely shattered.

 

Ink cried out at the sudden pain. His magic was low, and he hung limply where Error had him immobilized.

 

"Error, w-we need to leave. Now." He looked up weakly at the other.

 

Error's gaze was unreadable, and Ink groaned in discomfort when the strings tightened.

 

Ink fully expected Error to drop him there and leave.

 

He did not expect Error to fling him down into the open window of another alternate universe, nor did he expect Error to jump in after him.

 

The rip in space closed, and they both landed face down in the snow.

  
They were in Underswap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's the thing. I'm going to update this a little more frequently, mostly because I feel bad that I have new chapters and I feel like this is updating too slow? It is now every day, twice a day! Yay!
> 
> ~~I have the whole story backed up on a Google doc, I can live with this~~


	8. 7

If asked why he saved the creator, Error wouldn't respond with an answer.

 

He couldn't answer that himself.

 

Maybe it was because deep down, he knew something was wrong with the multiverse.

 

It wasn't like he cared about whether Ink lived or died. If Ink did die, Error would've thrown a party, and invited all his puppets.

 

But a deep memory, buried knowledge, had surfaced, and now they were both safe.

 

If Ink died, so did the multiverse. And by extension, so did he.

 

So now Error had an answer.

 

And a face full of snow.

 

Groaning, Error pushed himself up, snow sliding off his face.

 

"what thE hEll?" Error muttered, looking around.

 

He'd meant to go to the anti-void, maybe even continue his fight with Ink there.

 

Fighting was the only fun he ever got these days.

 

But instead, they'd ended up in…

 

Underswap, of all places, God why Underswap?

 

Error groaned again, pulling himself up to stand.

 

"Error?" Ink's muffled voice came from his feet, and he looked down.

 

Ink slowly pushed himself up, sitting with his legs pulled into a 'w'. He looked up at Error curiously.

 

Error's soul twinged.

 

He didn't notice.

 

"W-what did you-"

 

Before Ink could finish his sentence, a yell from up ahead caught their attention.

 

"Sans! Please! Come on!"

 

"i kEEp tELLing you, mY namE isn't sans."

 

Error's eyes widened, and he stepped around Ink.

 

"bluEbERRy?"

 

~~~~

 

This was getting annoying.

 

This skeleton wouldn't leave him alone, pleading with him, telling him things, trying to make him remember something that Blueberry didn't believe ever existed.

 

"Look, i'm REaLLY soRRY, BUt i'm not-"

 

"Sans! Please! Come on!"

 

Blueberry huffed in annoyance.

 

"i kEEp tELLing you, mY namE isn't sans."

 

"bluEbERRy?"

 

Blueberry stiffened. That voice, glitched just like his own.

 

He was not prepared for the sudden onslaught of memories that hit him when he turned around.

 

There stood an error, just like him.

 

And then the memories came.

 

They flooded back, this was who had kidnapped him, who had abandoned him, left him to the mercy of the voices.

 

Blueberry's eyes narrowed.

  
"ERRoR. how nicE to sEE you again."


	9. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking back through this story makes me cringe like honestly what was I thinking oh gosh Blueberry's getting salty in this chapter whoowee

Underswap was generally peaceful.

Ink had known Underswap for a very long time, and only rarely did this universe ever have genocide runs.

Only rarely did something go this wrong.

But this.

This was all wrong.

Ink could practically feel Underswap caving in on itself.

The only thing keeping it from collapsing was the human soul that the errored Underswap Sans held in his hand.

Ink knew Underswap Sans. He'd talked to him, spent time with him.

But this.

What had Error done to him? They seemed to know each other.

Ink wobbled to his feet and stood behind Error, watching the two stare down. Underswap Papyrus was shocked and angry, and that didn't surprise Ink at all.

"sO, bluEbERRy, hOw did yOu EscapE thE anti-vOid?" Error asked, his voice hard.

Underswap Sans- Blueberry, it seemed he wanted to be called- laughed.

"LikE you actUaLLY caRE. LEt mE ask you this, ERRoR. whERE wERE you whEn thE anti-void fELL?"

An orange tear fell from Blueberry's eye, leaving a corrosive streak of orange on the blackened bone.

Blueberry turned to Ink.

"and whERE wERE you whEn hE kidnappEd mE? whERE wERE you whEn hE took mE away? whERE wERE you whEn hE thREatEnEd mY timELinE?"

Another corrosive tear of orange fell, leaving a permanent tear streak.

Ink was too horrified to say anything.

Was this what it had been like for Error?

Suddenly, Error Sans seemed a lot more complex and mysterious to him.

It bit at his curiosity.

Ink realized he didn't know very much about the one he called an enemy. Considering the circumstances, did he even have the right to judge Error for his actions without knowing his motives first?

Ink knew he couldn't heal Blueberry. There was no way to heal him of this.

This was who Underswap Sans was now.

"bluEbERRy. shaRE with mE. yOuR diREctivE?" Error asked, breaking Ink out of his thoughts.

Blueberry stiffened up, and recited almost monotonously.

"to hELp and fREE."

~~~~

Error wasn't sure what he was expecting it to be.

Every error had a last thought. Their last thought helped to program them. Blueberry's last thought was apparently the need to help and free others.

So selfless.

Error probably would never share his last thought with anyone.

Taking a quick glance behind him at Ink, Error noted his expression. Ink met his gaze, and a very clear question shone in his eyes.

'what?'

Underswap Papyrus chose this moment to speak.

"What did you do to my brother?"

Error turned his gaze to him. Orange magic flamed at the other's eye, and he raised his hand threateningly.

"i havEn't dOnE anything."

Blueberry's expression turned venomous.

"LiaR."


	10. 9

This was confusing.

The words he was saying weren't what he wanted to say, but once he started, he couldn't stop.

Something else had taken hold of him, a deep anger, and it flooded his mind, choosing the words he said.

Burning magic fell down his face, leaving a deep cut in his skull.

And then one on the other side.

Blueberry gripped harder at the soul he held.

"LiaR." He hissed.

He remembered what Error had done to him.

But he did not remember the skeleton behind him, the one who called him brother.

For some reason, that only added to his frustration.

And then, all hell broke loose.

Blueberry could liken it to losing his mind, losing control of what exactly was going on.

He could feel the soul in his hand crying out.

And in his rage...

The last of his resistance snapped, and he crushed the soul in his hand.

The world shook.

Ink cried out in pain, though Blueberry barely registered it. He simply stared at the shattered pieces of what used to be a human soul.

"no... no this... this isn't what i wantEd to happEn... i'm soRRY, human..." He muttered in shock.

Error suddenly burst out into laughter.

"cOngRatulatiOns, bluEbERRy! yOu'vE dEstROyEd yOuR univERsE!"

~~~~

Underswap was falling.

Ink fell to his knees in the snow, curling up in pain, crying out.

He could dimly register the panicked shouts of Underswap Papyrus, of Blueberry, and the sounds of Error's magic streaking through the air.

He looked up, and he caught a glimpse of Blueberry shoving Error aside and kneeling by Ink's side.

Ink couldn't hear anything anymore, it was all dull ringing, the pain, the agony...

It was dark...

Ink woke with a gasp, his magic flaring in panic.

"hEY, woah, caLm down ink!"

Orange gloves grabbed him by the wrists, and Ink froze, recognizing Blueberry's voice.

"Blueberry?"

The name felt strange, but oddly suiting.

"yEah, it's bluEbERRy, whO did yOu ExpEct, mE?"

Ink looked up and caught sight of Error, standing behind Blueberry.

"What happened to Underswap?" Ink asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"gOnE. i'm suRpRisEd bluEbERRy had thE guts tO dO that." Error answered nonchalantly, shrugging and staring down at Ink over Blueberry's shoulder.

Releasing Ink's hands, Blueberry turned and slapped Error across the face.

"Ow! what thE hEll?!"

"ERRoR, if yOu valUE yOUR lifE, i sUggEst not EvER talking aBoUt that." Blueberry growled threateningly. To Ink's surprise, Error backed off.

Now that he could think properly, Ink looked around.

It looked like they were in Sans and Papyrus's house, and Ink was currently laying on the couch.

It all looked the same, except-

"Error are we in Sugartale."

"sugaRswap, if yOu want tO bE tEchnical."

Ink sighed in annoyance.

"The only thing keeping Sugarswap from collapsing is Sugartale. Since Underswap is gone, Sugarswap is only supported by Sugartale, which means this specific universe is very unstable."

Error looked like he understood. Blueberry was still struggling to catch up.

Ink sat up, swinging his legs around and standing.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Sugarswap Papyrus and Sans know that we're here, right?"

"pRObably nOt." Error answered again.

"Error, you know firsthand how bad Underswap Papyrus can get, what do you think Sugarswap Papyrus will do? Did that even occur to you?" Ink asked, anger starting to burn in his chest.

Ink had had a long day.

And he really didn't want to deal with-

"papy! look! we have guests!"

  
  


Great.


	11. 10

Sugarswap.

It had not been his idea to come here.

Error just wanted to go home, maybe go destroy something, but according to Blueberry, the anti-void had collapsed. That was how he had escaped.

...

Who would've thought that Blueberry would be the end of his own universe?!

It almost made Error laugh again at the sheer irony of it.

Poor helpless little Blueberry was not so helpless now.

In fact, in the very last moments of Underswap, after Ink had collapsed, Blueberry had pushed Error aside, picked up the small skeleton and practically ordered Error to get them out of there.

Normally, no one was ever allowed to speak to him that way, but as Blueberry was a new error, he didn't want to provoke any surprise powers by making him angry.

So they'd gone to the nearest universe.

Which happened to be Sugarswap.

Which was why there was a 'sugar-themed Blueberry' bouncing around excitedly.

Which was also why Error was pissed as all hell.

Ink looked pissed as well, surprisingly, and Error spared a second to believe that the only not pissed skeleton in this room was Sugarberry, because actual Blueberry looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Sugarswap Papyrus stepped into the room, and his easygoing expression hardened slightly.

"Okay, you have ten seconds to tell me who you all are or I throw you out." Sugarswap Papyrus demanded calmly. Error cast an internal vote and decided to dub him 'Honey'.

"papy! that's rude! you can't just threaten our guests like that!" Sugarberry exclaimed, zooming over to his brother's side and staring up at him. Honey glanced down calmly at his brother.

Error took another look at Blueberry. He seemed to be in shock.

Surprisingly, but not really so, Ink spoke up, attempting to defuse the situation.

"Um, actually, he's right. Well, at the very least, he's made a point. We, uh, intruded. Sorry 'bout that, but we mean no harm."

Error rolled his eyes, and noted that his action had not gone unnoticed by Honey.

"it's nOt likE wE mEant tO cOmE hERE."

~~~~

Sugarswap.

Now that he was here, Blueberry was starting to remember other things.

Seeing the Sugarswap brothers. They'd made him freeze in shock.

Didn't he used to have a brother like that?

Wasn't it-?

Wasn't it the one he'd ignored?

Wasn't it the one he'd left behind?

Wasn't it the one he'd killed?

He couldn't e v e n s a v e h i s o w n b r o t h e r.

He didn't even-

He didn't even get to say goodbye.

And he'd killed him.

Destroyed his own universe.

What had he done?

What

had

he

DONE?!

And he broke.

Blueberry cried out, clawing at his head and eyesockets. Error signs flashed all over him, and he fell to his knees where he was, curling up and trying to stop the burning magic, the frigid agonizing pain, the tearing at his skull that he realized were his own hands.

He didn't know what anyone else was doing, nor did he pay attention to the screaming that seemed to echo dimly around his head.

He didn't notice the world beginning to shake, nor did he see the dust of two skeleton monsters drift down barely ten feet in front of him.

All he could see was darkness.

All he wanted to see was his brother.

 

But that was impossible.


	12. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink and Error finally get to chat

How many times were they going to have to escape another universe before it collapsed?!

Ink was starting to get angry, furious even, at himself.

Error hadn't given him any proof other than his word that he had nothing to do with those universes being destroyed.

But if it wasn't Error, who or what could it have been?

He had a little time to ponder these questions.

After Blueberry destroyed Sugarswap in his blind mental breakdown, it was up to Ink this time to get them out.

Now, they were resting in Undertone.

Error included.

It was strange, Ink thought, that Error had stayed with them.

Error didn't usually seem to stay in groups. He seemed more like a loner, preferring to stay alone.

Probably why he was sitting across the hall away from Ink and Blueberry.

Undertone's Judgement hall.

This was a safe universe to be in, as long as the kid didn't RESET.

Judging by this universe, Ink didn't think the kid would come back.

Undertone was a pretty special universe. For one, the Sans here was, well... blind.

Another special little thing about this universe is that it had never once experienced a RESET.

The last thing about Undertone was that the only surviving monsters were Sans and Asgore.

And they were on the surface.

So Ink was confident that this universe would not collapse. And if it did, then that meant someone else had to be destroying the universes.

All Ink had to do was watch Error.

So he did.

He watched Error.

It occurred to Ink once more that he didn't know anything about the other.

He didn't know him.

All those years of fighting the same monster, and he didn't know who the other was.

Perhaps if he had, then maybe he wouldn't be so curious as to what Error was doing right now.

Blueberry hadn't woken up yet. He lay curled in a ball at the base of a pillar, where Ink had set him down. He hadn't moved since.

For a second, Ink hesitated.

He didn't want to provoke Error, nor did he want to leave Blueberry on the other side of the room, but his curiosity was nagging at him, pulling him.

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, right?

So Ink stood, walking towards the other skeleton and already trying to see what he was doing as he got closer.

Ink stood in front of Error, placing his hands on his knees as he leaned forward, trying to see what the other was doing.

~~~~

Error glanced up, yelping in surprise. How had Ink snuck up on him that easily? And why hadn't he noticed sooner?!

Hastily, he tried to hide the puppet he was making, but his effort went unappreciated.

"What's that?"

Error winced.

"it's nOthing, nOw gO away."

Error met Ink's stare, neither one blinking for the longest time.

At the moment, it was hard to tell what Ink was thinking. For being such an open and colorful monster, his face was almost apathetic right now.

And finally, Error blinked.

"Hah! Yes!" Ink whooped out of giddy satisfaction, standing up straight and stretching his hands towards the ceiling. A large grin was on his face.

"REally?" Error asked, unamusement practically radiating off of him. "what was thE pOint Of that?"

Ink's expression dropped. That in itself sent a twinge of satisfaction through Error, just out of spite for the other.

"There was no point. I just felt like it. Anyways, what were you doing?"

Error flinched as the question was posed again.

"i wasn't dOing anything, nOw lEavE mE alOnE."

And for good measure, Error stared straight into Ink's eyes, and spoke before the other had a chance to.

"thE fact that i'm nOt dEstROying anything right nOw cOuld changE vERy Easily. why dOn't yOu gO away bEfORE yOu lOsE this univERsE tOO?"

Ink's face dropped into a disappointed expression, and he turned to walk away. But at the last second, he stopped and spoke instead.

"You know, Error... Something's been bothering me a little."

"what paRt Of 'gO away' did yOu nOt undERstand? i dOn't want tO talk tO yOu." Error snapped, his magic curling angrily around the unfinished puppet he held in a clenched fist.

"Okay..." Ink muttered, finally walking away and leaving him alone.

Error sighed, glancing down at the ball of crushed string that used to be a puppet head.

He groaned in annoyance.

Now he'd have to start all over.


	13. 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rereading this book makes me laugh

As a new error, Blueberry figured out quickly that crashing was not fun.

Crashing was not good.

Crashing meant losing.

Waking up, and opening his eyes, Blueberry noticed one thing.

He couldn't see.

Well, he could, actually, but everything was blurry.

Sitting up, Blueberry looked around, noting the orange and yellow all around them. It looked like the Judgement hall.

"Blueberry!" Ink's voice echoed, and a blurry mush of brown, black, and rainbow rushed towards him.

"ink? what's going on? i... i can't sEE vERY wELL." Blueberry tried squinting up at the artist, but it didn't help much.

Ink seemed to pause, and Blueberry could only imagine what he was thinking.

It was a moment before Ink spoke again.

"I was going to ask if you were okay, but I guess not." Ink muttered.

Blueberry frowned.

"okaY, jUst bEcaUsE i can baRELY sEE, doEs not mEan I can't hEaR yoU."

All in all, Blueberry felt he was taking this whole 'very blurry sight' thing surprisingly well.

He heard Ink sit down beside him, and he assumed Ink was leaning back against the wall.

"so, what ExactLY happEnEd?" He asked after a moment, curiosity biting at him.

Ink said nothing.

"ink?"

"... You destroyed Sugarswap."

Horror gnawed at his soul as he took in this new information.

"so, whERE aRE wE now?"

Ink sighed, not in annoyance, but what Blueberry could only describe as forlorn.

"Undertone. This is a very stable universe, so I'm not that worried about it, but..." Ink made a slow movement. Piecing together the sounds and what little sight he had, Blueberry figured Ink had placed a hand on his chest, clutching it and probably pulling the fabric there into wrinkles.

Huh.

He was pretty good at this whole 'blind' thing.

"BUt what?"

"I can feel... I can feel the other universes. They're dying. All of them are dying. And I'm just sitting here, doing nothing to help them, doing nothing to save them..." Ink sniffled. "And when they finally collapse, there's nothing I can do to revive them. Who could-...? Who would want to do this?"

Blueberry carefully placed a hand on Ink's shoulder.

"maYBE thE answER isn't as simpLE as jUst 'somEonE'. maYBE that's why yoU fEEL LikE yoU can't do anYthing, BUt yoU know what? yoU can do somEthing. whatEvER it is that is doing this pROBaBLY isn't that oBvioUs, and that's onLY a REason to tRY haRdER. Right now, aLL yoU can do is tRY."

There was a moment where nothing happened.

And then, arms wrapped around him.

Blueberry recognized this feeling, and he immediately hugged Ink back, letting the artist cry on his shoulder.

If all he could do was comfort Ink, then he was going to do it.

~~~~

It felt like everything was falling apart.

Regarding the state of the multiverse, that statement stood quite literally.

Words of doubt spilled from his mouth, and Ink couldn't do anything to stop them. All he could do was cry, hugging himself close to Blueberry, who countered every doubt with words of hope.

What if he couldn't save everyone? What if everything was just meant to be destroyed? What if they died? What about the original universe?

What if he just wasn't good enough?

'No, we will save everyone, we'll find a way. If everything was meant to be destroyed, than why was it created? We won't die, we'll stay strong, together, all three of us.

And you are good enough.'

Past years of stress surfaced, past years of not a single tear, and by the time Ink had cried himself out, there was a rather large ink stain on Blueberry's shoulder.

Sniffling one last time, Ink pulled out of the hug, wiping at his eyes.

"Th-thanks, Blue."

Blueberry grinned widely.

"mwEh hEh! i'm alwaYs happY to hELp!"

Ink let out a shuddering breath, smiling as well.

"BUt don't LEt it gEt to yoU, okaY?" Blueberry added as an afterthought, reaching out a hand for Ink.

Ink took it, looking straight into the other's eyes, even though Blueberry had said he couldn't see very well.

"I won't let it get to me." Ink's smile grew slightly.

"yoU gotta pRomisE mE." Blueberry demanded, his grin turning playful, and Ink let out a laugh himself.

"I promise."

From across the room, Error stared at him.

Ink met his gaze.

  
  


"I promise."


	14. 13

This was getting boring.

Error had tried three times to make the same God damned puppet, each time ending up with only a ball of tangled string.

He sighed to himself, the tangled ball of string sitting immobile in his hands. An unfamiliar sound echoed in the corridor, and Error looked up.

It was either Ink or Blueberry, but  one of them was crying.

Error had heard the sound of crying before, it was just a little unexpected, considering-

Well, it was Ink and Blueberry.

Literally two of the most annoying monsters Error had ever had the misfortune to meet.

It didn't seem like either of them to start crying.

Well, Blueberry had once, but Error didn't see any reason for him to be crying now.

So instead of ignoring them like he usually would, Error listened in, mindlessly playing with the tangled string in his hands.

Ink's voice echoed across the hall, accompanied by Blueberry's, and Error could barely hear what they were saying.

Oh but he tried.

He tried, but he couldn't hear them.

For what seemed like forever, he listened to the sobbing, and he sat, and he waited, and absently played with his strings.

And then, something struck him in the soul.

It wasn't an attack, physical or magical, and it didn't deal damage to his glitchy HP, but it resonated so strongly that Error could feel his magic trying to act up on it's own.

He forced himself to push it down, his eyes widening in shock.

There was something wrong with this universe.

He could feel it.

It felt almost like something was creeping slowly into this universe, and destroying little parts of it.

It was very disconcerting.

Only then did he notice the lack of sound from the other two, and still kind of in shock, Error looked up.

And then, clear as day-

"I promise."

What?

Ink was staring at him.

What could he possibly have meant by that?

Error felt another shot of magic burst through his soul, panicked and burning. He gasped, clutching at his chest with a hand, in pain.

Undertone was on the verge of dying.

Error frowned. How could he feel this universe's lifeline?

Why could he feel it?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ink hastily get to his feet, take a second to right himself, and promptly rush towards him. This didn't quite register, and his jumbled thoughts returned to his pain.

Amidst the burning in his soul, Error glanced down at his other hand.

Clutched tightly in it, lay a completed puppet.

Specifically, Undertone Sans.

~~~~

Blueberry still couldn't see.

So naturally, he was confused when Ink scrambled up and ran across the hall.

"ink? what's happEning?"

On the other side of the hall, panicked gasping echoed, and then, a shout.

"dOn't yOu daRE tOuch mE!"

Blueberry stopped.

Error sounded like he was in pain.

His glitchy voice was strained, and it was accompanied by a small gasp for breath.

Ink had run over there.

Ink was probably trying to help.

He should be trying to help too.

A ringing silence fell over the corridor, and gave Blueberry second thoughts.

This was Error.

He knew Error, he'd manipulated Error before, and he knew that trying to help Error when he was vulnerable was practically a death sentence.

Error could be very unpredictable.

And then, another horrifying thought occurred to Blueberry.

Ink didn't know that.

"i-ink!" Blueberry immediately scrambled to stand, almost losing his balance and toppling over again.

He tried to run, blurry orange and yellow running together in his vision, and he tripped, only halfway across the hall.

He felt the rush of magic before he heard the cry of pain.

"ink!"

"ERRoR!"

"Blueberry!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I did a bad


	15. 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOPS I DID ANOTHER BAD

Blue strings wrapped around his soul, binding his arms to his sides, and making him cry out in pain at the sudden sting that came from struggling. He was on his knees, and since struggling was out of the question, he stayed as still as possible.

"ink!" Error snarled. He had abruptly stood, and was now standing quite a few feet away. There was something clenched in his hand.

A sharp crack echoed throughout the hall, and with what little movement he had, Ink glanced over.

Blueberry was laying face down on the hard tile floor. When he pulled himself up on his hands, Ink noticed a large crack on his skull that stretched from his right eye to the hole where his nose would be.

"ERRoR!" Blueberry yelled in anger, his glitchy voice echoing along the hall.

"Blueberry!" Ink cried out, wincing when the strings tightened.

"i tOld yOu nOt tO tOuch mE." Error muttered lowly, and the strings withdrew themselves, leaving him gasping for air on his knees and in disbelief.

All he'd actually done was reach out. Ink hadn't known Error would react like that. Although Blueberry had to have known, the way he freaked out.

But Error hadn't actually hurt him. What did that mean?

A whimper of pain echoed in the hall, and Ink turned, his attention on Blueberry.

It looked like magic was leaking from the crack in his face, orange magic that dripped to the floor and blended in with the tiles.

"Blueberry!" Ink gasped, rushing over to his side and kneeling next to him.

"i-ink? t-this hURts... aRE YoU okaY? what happEnEd? whERE's ERRoR?" Blueberry whimpered, holding his hand up to his face. Magic dripped out from behind it.

"H-here just, just sit and give me a second. I can fix this, I can do this." Ink hastily pulled a small paintbrush out of his sash. Blueberry had moved, and was now sitting with his legs crossed together, still holding his hand to the crack.

"nO, yOu can't." Error spoke, walking around them, and standing just out of arm's reach. His hands were empty.

Ink glanced over at Error in confusion.

"Y-yes I can-"

"nO ink, yOu can't. ERROR's can't bE hEalEd by anyOnE but thEmsElvEs." Error snapped impatiently, making Ink flinch.

Ink glanced helplessly at Blueberry, who was wiping the magic away from the crack. The magic burned paths in his skull, and he whimpered in pain again.

Oddly though, the magic didn't seem to burn through his gloves.

"Blueberry, stop wiping at it, that's only making it worse." Ink tried to tell him. He was trying hard not to panic.

"what am i sUpposEd to do, LEt it bURn mY facE off?!" Blueberry cried out, but stopped trying to wipe it away anyways. Lines of faded orange now spread from the crack to the side of his skull.

"ugh, yOu cRybaby." Error muttered in annoyance, but didn't make any move to help.

"Error, how do we help?"

"wOah, Okay, thERE is nO 'wE'. i hOnEstly dOn't caRE what happEns tO him." Error shrugged.

"Just answer the question!" Ink groaned in exasperation.

"wEll, hE has tO hEal himsElf. i thOught i mEntiOnEd that?"

"i... think i can do hEaLing magic." Blueberry winced.

"thERE, yOu sEE? hE'll bE finE."

Ink glanced up at Error. He seemed awfully shifty, and Ink frowned.

"What are you so nervous about?" Ink asked after a moment of thought, watching Error's reactions carefully. He looked panicked for a split second.

"i'm nOt nERvOus abOut anything. yOu nEvER lEaRn, dO yOu?" Error's face now held unamusement.

Ink frowned. What did he mean by that?

"ERRoR, stop." Blueberry spoke in annoyance, and Ink noticed that the crack in his face had stopped leaking, and it looked much smaller. Small wisps of green magic faded off of his hand.

"wEll, jEEz, finE."

"Error?" Ink asked, his gaze now focused on a small shape lying on the floor where Error had originally been sitting.

"what?"

"What's that?"

~~~~

The puppet.

Error had forgotten about the puppet.

Ink stared at it, and without thinking, Error walked over and snatched the puppet off the ground.

A thrum of pain waved through him, and he grit his teeth, not expecting it to hit him again.

The puppet he'd made acted as a receptor to the lifeline of this universe. Interesting.

"catch." Error turned and tossed the puppet at Ink, who fumbled it for a second, before finally getting a good grip. The stinging pain had stopped.

"Undertone Sans?" Ink looked up at Error in confusion.

"yOu dOn't fEEl it?"

"Feel what? What do you mean?"

Error stayed silent, lost in thought.

"Error?"

"... undERtOnE is dying."

"... W-what?" Ink whispered in shock, and Error felt a twinge in his soul.

He didn't notice.

"what do YoU mEan, UndERtonE is dYing? how do YoU know that?" Blueberry asked, curiosity in his voice.

"i..."

Error stayed silent, thoughts whirling around his head. Why did they have to know the reason? Why did he even tell them?

Why was this so confusing to him?

It didn't make  sense .

Why did the puppet only react to him? That certainly didn't make sense. At least, not at the moment it didn't.

"how do YoU know that, ERRoR?" Blueberry asked again.

"t-thE puppEt." He stuttered, still lost in thought.

"ERRoR, YoU aREn't making anY sEnsE."

"Where did you even get this?" Ink held the puppet up with one hand. "And if Undertone is dying, why don't I feel it?"

"i madE it. and i dOn't knOw." Error answered, sitting down and resting his arm on his knee. He was still horribly confused.

"You made this?  You made this?"

"dOn't gEt thE wROng idEa, ink." Error huffed, extending two strings and deftly snatching the puppet out of Ink's hand. Absentmindedly, he wrapped more strings around the puppet and made it dance around, speaking again. "i madE a whOlE bunch Of thEsE a lOng timE agO. mOstly fOR whEn i gOt bOREd."

Another interesting thing. He couldn't feel the pain through his strings. This only added to Error's pile of questions.

"YEah. i REmEmBER thEm. hE callEd thEm by namEs." Blueberry suddenly spoke up. Error noticed his unfocused stare. What was up with Blueberry's eyesight?

"yEah. REmEmbER? undERfEll sans was abOminatiOn numbER thiRtEEn."

"i was aBomination nUmBER ELEvEn." Blueberry gave a sort of wistful smile. Error took a moment to wonder what he would even be wistful about.

"i was abOminatiOn numbER OnE." He added as an afterthought.

Ink glanced between the two.

"What number would I be?" He asked suddenly, and Error stared at him, a wide grin spreading across his face

 

"numbER twO."


	16. 15

Even as Ink and Error started arguing, Blueberry couldn’t help but smile.

The argument wasn’t even anything serious, more along the lines of-

‘hey why am I abomination number two?’

‘bEcausE yOu’RE a dimwit, that’s why’

-and similar friendly insults.

And that was the thing.

It made Blueberry grin excitedly, because finally, finally , they were getting along!

... To a point.

And then, Blueberry had to refocus, because they had suddenly stopped talking, and just seemed to be staring at each other.

“Error?”

“yEah?”

Ink seemed to fidget.

“Did you... Did you ever have a puppet of me?”

“nO.” Error hadn’t hesitated in his answer. It didn’t seem to be a touchy subject to him, but Blueberry knew him better than that.

“BUt YoU did, didn’t YoU? i REmEmBER. YoU nEvER took him down to show mE, BUt i REmEmBER.” He burst out impulsively, keeping his blurred gaze on where Error was.

Error said nothing, and seemed to do nothing either, but a small scrape of bone against bone proved otherwise. Clenching his fist, perhaps?

“i REmEmBER sEEing it, onE timE whEn YoU lEft. thERE wasn’t much ELsE to LOOk at BUt thE cEiLing, and thERE it was. i REmEmBER wondERing to mYsELf whY YoU nEvER showEd it to mE.”

“bluEbERRy, shut up.”

The voice was quiet, but harsh, and it got its point across. Blueberry shut his mouth, silently berating himself for ruining the moment, because now, all that filled the air was tension and very awkward silence.

“E-Error, it’s okay-” Ink tried to assure him, but Error stood abruptly, making him stop talking.

“nO, it’s nOt. that puppEt was nEvER mEant tO exist.”

Ringing silence fell over the corridor once more, and even though he hadn’t thought to before, Blueberry cursed his newfound blindness. He couldn’t see clearly what was going on, and when they stayed still like this, he didn’t know what either of them were feeling.

As the silence dragged on, Blueberry allowed himself to think back, and then, his eyes widened in realization. He could feel the small crack on his face twinge in slight pain as he did this, and thankfully, no more corrosive magic leaked out.

“ERRoR, didn’t YoU say bEfoRE that this UnivERsE was dYing?”

Ink jumped to his feet, mumbling quietly to himself. Blueberry attempted to stand, and managed to do so successfully, though he had to take an extra moment to balance himself so he didn’t topple over and make the small crack in his skull any worse.

Ink chose this moment to speak.

“If we’re going to leave, it needs to be now. I can feel it. Undertone’s about to collapse.”

~~~~

As Ink spoke, he reached out and rested a hand on Blueberry’s shoulder. He immediately looked relieved, his sightless eyes darting vaguely over him.

Error watched this with mild interest.

“whEn wERE yOu gOing tO tEll mE hE was blind?”

“Error, now is not the time.” Ink avoided eye contact, but kept his head up confidently, returning his gaze to Blueberry.

“tEchnicaLLY, i’m partiaLLY bLind.” Blueberry jumped in helpfully, staring in Error’s direction.

Out of the corner of his eye, Error shrugged.

“dOEs it mattER?”

Blueberry didn’t look like he took offense to this, so Ink focused on their previous objective.

“Guys, we really should leave before it’s too late.”

“Okay, ink, whERE dO yOu suggEst wE gO?” Error asked boredly, and Ink wondered again why Error hadn’t left them behind yet. And he’d referred to all three of them as ‘we’.

But he did present a good question. Where in the multiverse could they go that could give them answers, that would give them safety?

And then he realized.

But would it be wise?

He had stayed hidden there for as long as he could remember. It was his refuge, made for him, and him alone.

Only the few he let enter could enter.

But on the off chance that they did manage to find answers, and save everything, did he really want to give up his only hiding spot in the multiverse to Error?

And then, he thought of them.

The shattered universes, and whatever was destroying them.

It was their only chance.

He’d give it up for them.

“My domain.”

Error stared at him in disbelief. Blueberry glanced over at him, and up close, Ink noticed how faded his eyelights looked.

“REally?”

Ink met Error’s incredulous gaze.

“Yep. The Doodle Sphere.”

Error grinned.

“timE tO sEE whERE yOu’vE bEEn hiding all this timE.”

Ink sighed slightly to himself.

“I suppose it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooooo


	17. 16

He wasn’t expecting so many shattered universes to be floating around, but thinking back on it, he probably should have.

Seeing all these shattered doors made him angry for some unapparent reason.

He should be happy, being so close to his goal, but he wasn’t.

The elation he should be feeling was absent, instead replaced with a curious anger.

...

The Doodle Sphere was bigger than he’d expected.

Error looked around, curiosity flashing briefly through him. Even now, he could see a few doors shatter into pieces every so often.

He took a subconscious glance at Blueberry, who was struggling to stay upright in the non-existent gravity of Ink’s domain.

He barely thought about it, and that was what scared him.

But he went over to Blueberry and rested a hand on his shoulder.

Blueberry grasped Error’s hand with his own two, pulling it off his shoulder and using it to keep his balance. His sightless eyes glanced up at him.

“ERRoR?”

He gave an uncomfortable hum of acknowledgement. Blueberry’s face split into a grin.

“oh mY gosh ERRoR, YoU did it!”

Ink had been looking at all the shattered doors, but now he turned, his eyes lighting up in surprise.

“yEah. i did.” Error stared at his hand, avoiding Ink’s gaze on purpose. He shifted his stare to the puppet he held in his other hand, and he wondered for a moment why he’d brought it along.

“this is gREat, ERRoR! YoU’RE gEtting ovER YoUR haphEphoBia!”

Error flinched, yanking his hand away.

“hOw dO yOu knOw abOut that?”

“Well, it does seem obvious now.” Ink commented, going back to looking through the doors.

“BEsidEs, YoU mEntionEd it in thE anti-void, REmEmBER?” Blueberry had managed to catch his balance on his own, and now he was looking up at him with that stupid cheerful grin.

“vaguEly.”

Ink chose this moment, thank goodness, to interrupt their small conversation.

“Undertone. Original.”

A white door with a single music note on its surface floated calmly down in front of Ink. Black bordered the door in a sluggish waving motion.

Error couldn’t see Ink’s face, but he could imagine his expression, especially when Ink reached out, touched the black border, and recoiled.

“what is that?” He found himself asking.

“what is what?” Blueberry asked right after, blinking with curiosity.

Ink turned, holding his hand close to him. He looked up with horrified realization, straight at Error.

“The Void.”

~~~~

“How did I not see this sooner?” Ink muttered to himself.

Blueberry heard Error cross his arms.

“thE quEstiOn yOu shOuld bE asking is, ‘why?’”

It was a moment before Ink answered.

“You’re right. We know what it is now, we just don’t know why.”

There was silence for a moment.

“nO, REally? i thOught wE knEw that tOO.” Error snapped sarcastically.

“ERRoR, stop BEing a jERk.” Blueberry turned his blurry gaze to Error, who sighed in annoyance.

“... Error, you know the code for the anti-void, right?”

“yEah. it was pREtty unstablE.”

“What about the code for the Void?”

“yEah- whERE aRE yOu gOing with this?” Error sounded skeptical.

“W-well, I’m not sure, but didn’t this all start after the anti-void collapsed? And now the Void is, for lack of a better word, swallowing all these universes.”

“so thEY’RE connEctEd?” Blueberry asked for clarification, glancing in Ink’s direction.

“That’s what I think.”

“ um, ink, wE may havE a pROblEm.” Error spoke, his voice incredulous.

“What?”

Error moved, holding his arm out.

Behind Ink, the white blur Blueberry assumed was Undertone’s portal shuddered and burst into pieces.

“thE puppEt just dustEd.”


	18. 17

Dust sifted through Error’s fingers, and as it did, the white door behind Ink blew to pieces. Blueberry yelped, throwing his arms up in front of his face, and Ink gave a pained gasp, curling in on himself.

When it was over, Ink looked up, staring at Error with frayed hope in his eyes.

“E-Error, can you get us to the Void?”

Error frowned.

“what wOuld that accOmplish?”

Ink rolled his eyes, straightening up and floating closer to Error, his face still ghosted with pain.

“If we can get into the Void, we could find out what’s going on. Maybe find a way to fix this.”

“that makEs sEnsE.” Blueberry spoke, his gaze unfocused on Ink.

“Okay, finE, but why dO i havE tO dO it?” Error complained, wiping his dusty hand on his jacket.

“Because you’re the only one here who knows the Void’s code.”

Error didn’t answer.

To transport them both to the Void, they’d have to be touching him.

Just the very thought of that scared him.

He was sure he could trust himself to handle teleporting with Blueberry.

With Ink, he wasn’t too sure.

“... dO i havE tO?” He whined.

“ERRoR, comE on! stop acting LikE a kid.”

It was after that statement that Error gave Blueberry an annoyed glance.

“if YoU’RE giving mE a look, i can’t sEE it.” Blueberry added on cheerfully, holding out his hand.

Reluctantly, Error took it.

Sighing, he then turned to Ink, who appeared to be lost in thought.

“ink? wE’RE gOing.”

As Ink looked up, Error held out a shaking hand for Ink to take.

Slowly, like he knew how much this scared him, Ink carefully placed his hand in Error’s.

Immediately, they disappeared from the Doodle Sphere.

...

Something was wrong.

Error could feel something blocking their way, his grip on Blueberry’s hand slipping. Before he could fix it, they crashed right into the block, tumbling to the snowy ground of another universe.

Error lifted his face from the cold and then, remembering that Ink’s hand was still in his, promptly ripped his away.

Ink pulled his face out of the snow and stared at Error.

“What happened?”

His mind went blank.

“i... i’m nOt suRE.”

“W-wait, where’s Blue?” Ink stood up and whirled around, looking in every direction. Too late, Error realized Blueberry was gone.

Ink sighed and gave up his search.

“So where are we now?”

Error shrugged.

“undERfEll.”

~~~~

Ink watched Error calmly stand up, his thoughts beginning to mount in panic.

“Underfell?! Which one?!”

Error started walking away, and Ink was forced to run after him to keep up.

“thE fiRst.”

Ink stayed quiet after that.

They were in the very first alternate universe.

He couldn’t imagine what Error thought of this place.

“Error?” Ink asked suddenly, a thought coming to him.

“yEah, what?”

“Why exactly do you hate the AU’s?”

Error’s expression tightened.

“i’m nOt gOing tO tEll yOu. and dOn’t ask again.”

Ink’s curiosity was piqued, and despite Error’s warning, he opened his mouth again.

“But-”

 

“i said dOn’t ask again.” Error snapped, turning to Ink with a furious look in his eyes, before turning back and walking faster than before. Ink had to struggle to keep up.

“Sorry.”

He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

So they walked in silence.

Ink had never really wondered about Error until now.

It was kind of disappointing, to be honest.

He wanted to know what happened, who Error was before...

So lost in thought, Ink ran into the arm Error had thrown out in front of him. As Ink expected, Error recoiled, but he’d hesitated. Maybe he really was getting over that fear.

Looking beyond them, a vast valley lay below, pocketing the town of Snowdin. As they watched, all the residents scattered and into view stormed Underfell Papyrus.

Even from up on the edge of the cliff, they could hear him shouting his brother’s name.

When nothing moved for a good minute or so, he appeared to give up and disappeared into his house.

With a sudden start, Ink realized how close they were standing to the edge.

“Did you stop me from going over?”

Error sighed and rolled his eyes.

“stOp tRying tO makE mE lOOk likE a gOOd guy.”

Ink huffed in amusement.

“Well, you’re helping me.”

Error stayed silent.

“Even if you don’t want to admit you’re doing some good, I don’t care. Thank you.”

Error looked down at the snow, kicking some over the ledge of rock.

 

“y-yEah. nO pROblEm.”


	19. 18

He could only remember trying to hold onto Error’s hand.

Blueberry woke up, his blurry vision dotted with white and blue glowing stars that shimmered far above him.

He sat up, rubbing his head and glancing around. It almost looked like he was in a field of echo flowers. In fact, he was. He could hear the whispering voices of the monsters who had come here.

Actually, the whispers all had the same voice, now that he was listening closer.

‘i wish he’d remember’

‘i wish we could see the real stars’

‘i wish that dumb kid and flower would stop RESETing everything’

‘i wish... we could stay on the surface’

Blueberry blinked slowly, listening to every wish.

The soft sound of footsteps behind him made him straighten up and look around, trying to see who it was with his ruined sight.

The red and black figure stopped right behind him.

Blueberry stood and turned around, facing this world’s version of himself.

“the fuck are you?”

“LangUagE.” Blueberry huffed, crossing his arms.

“not from here, then. what freaky universe spit you out?”

“ExcUsE mE. i happEn to think that mY UnivERsE is pREtty cool. wELL, it was...”

“yeah yeah, i don’t wanna hear your sob story. i’ve got better things to do.”

The skeleton turned to leave, walking away.

Blueberry decided to follow him.

He guided himself mostly by sound, and what little he could see. He followed the other’s footsteps, until the crunch of snow under his boots sent a feeling of excitement through him.

It felt like forever since he’d last seen snow.

Well, not  seen exactly, but his excitement was just the same.

It was then that he bumped right into the other skeleton, who had turned to face him while he was lost in thought.

“gotta bone to pick with me or somethin’? why’re you following me?”

Blueberry looked up at the other.

“BEcaUsE i wanna know what UnivERsE i’m in.”

There was a moment where Blueberry assumed the skeleton was staring at him incredulously.

“you’re in underfell. if you want specifics, underfell classic. now leave me alone.”

Blueberry ignored him and followed him again, matching his pace.

“i think i’m going to caLL YoU ‘fELL’.”

The other groaned in exasperation.

“are you trying to make me angry? ‘cuz it’s working.”

Blueberry ignored him again.

“So, Back in thE Echo fLowER Room, wERE aLL thosE whispERs YoUR wishEs?”

Fell froze, and Blueberry walked past him a few steps before realizing the other had stopped.

“... you may not be from here, but don’t think i won’t kill you for that.”

Fell sounded angry. More than that, he sounded furious.

“kiLL mE foR what?”

“... mentioning that in snowdin. you don’t know who could be listening.” Fell had lowered his voice so that Blueberry was sure if someone were listening, they couldn’t hear.

The sudden grip on his wrist was tight, and he cried out in surprise, his blurry surroundings changing rapidly from the white and red of snowdin to the blue of the echo flowers.

~~~~

They were sitting on the edge of the cliff, Error flicking rapidly through the undestroyed AU’s, Ink looking over his shoulder.

“Have you found him yet?”

“nO.”

After a moment, Error froze, staring at the screen.

“thERE’s Only thiRty lEft.”

The image on the screen flickered and dissolved, making Ink gasp in what Error assumed was pain. Ink clutched at the fabric of Error’s jacket, burying his face into the other’s shoulder.

Error flinched violently, and he bit down on the instinct to move away, staying absolutely still. He looked at the screen, watching four more universes disappear.

When it stopped, Ink pulled away from Error, muttering a ‘sorry’ and refusing to look at him.

“i-it’s finE, just... waRn mE.”

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, neither skeleton knowing what to say, it would seem.

Before, Error’d thought he would freak out. But, it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

Even if Ink was in pain, and it wasn’t really a hug, Error was going to count it as one.

Almost smiling to himself at the thought, Error knew Blueberry would be upset that he didn’t get to hug him first.

“ink?” He spoke suddenly, surprising himself with a new thought, as well as the fact that he was going to act upon it.

“Yeah?”

“um...” He forced himself to spit it out. “what dO hugs fEEl likE?”

Ink stared at him.

“Oh, well, um... They aren’t really something you can describe.”

Error silenced himself, staring down the cliff.

He felt almost silly- no scratch that, he felt stupid- asking his next question.

“th-thEn can yOu shOw mE?”

Ink smiled at him, and Error felt warmth wash over his face.

Then, Ink scooted closer and wrapped his arms around him in a side hug.

Error froze.

Then, he slowly lifted his arms and hugged back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've almost caught up-


	20. 19

As they walked through Underfell’s dull forest, all Ink could think about was that hug.

 

He tried to think about other things, but then, Error took a subtle glance at him and looked away, successfully scattering Ink’s thoughts.

 

Finally, he managed gathered them, his thoughts turning to Error once more. Sighing inaudibly, he let them.

 

Error really had come a long way.

 

All he’d known about Error before was his need to destroy, and possibly piss Ink off while he was at it.

 

His thoughts on the other had drastically changed since then.

 

Ink had realized that Error wasn’t just a shallow character hell-bent on destroying everything. He felt guilty just for thinking that way before.

 

The time spent with Error on this quest, seeing him interact with Blue, observing his character and personality as he slowly opened up to both Ink and Blueberry- Ink couldn’t see the same monster he’d thought Error was.

 

In place of the destructive skeleton was- well, still a destructive skeleton, but he had so much more character to him. He was curious, impulsive, sarcastic as all hell.

 

The hug on the cliff was a huge step, Ink understood that now. He’d not known about Error’s phobia of touch until quite recently, and while he could understand Error being fine with Blueberry, who he’d known much longer, he couldn’t understand why Error had taken such a big step with him, the one he’d known for less time.

 

Curious and impulsive, right.

 

Then, there were the dolls.

 

Ink had acknowledged long ago that Error was an outcode character like him, but as for multiversal powers?

 

Yet another thing he’d had no idea about the other.

 

Lost in thought, he passed Error, who was kneeling down in the snow, unburying something.

 

“Error?”

 

Error stood, holding something small in his hand.

 

“it’s OnE Of...”

 

Ink walked back to Error’s side, looking down at the small object.

 

“Underfell Sans?”

 

Error brushed a few stray flakes of snow off the puppet.

 

“hOw did it gEt hERE?”

 

Ink stared at the doll.

 

“I’m going to bet it has something to do with the anti-void.” He spoke absentmindedly.

 

Error turned and gave him an irritated glance.

 

“nO shit, REally?”

 

“Well, jeez, no need to be rude.”

 

“i find bEing rudE tO yOu ExtREmEly fun.”

 

Ink huffed, but couldn’t stop his grin. He could hear the smile in Error’s voice, which was new, but wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

“You have offended me.” Ink spoke with mock haughtiness, prancing away and kicking up snow behind him.

 

“gOOd. maybE yOu’ll finally gEt it in yOuR hEad that i likE pissing yOu Off.”

 

Ink laughed, stopping a small distance from Error. The way they had just played around, it almost felt like they were friends.

 

After spending so much time getting to know the other, would it matter?

 

His laughs turned to sobs, and he broke down, sinking to his knees in the snow.

 

Would it matter in a few days?

 

Would it matter when they were dead?

 

~~~~

 

The soft glow of the echo flowers was marred by a harsh red burst of light, followed by a sudden gasp and a thud.

 

“... um, you alright there?”

 

Blueberry looked up from the ground, eyes crinkled.

 

“pLEasE don’t do that again.”

 

Fell shrugged.

 

“what, shortcut?”

 

Blueberry nodded, slowly standing.

 

“‘m not apologizing.”

 

Blueberry huffed indignantly.

 

“wELL that’s RathER RUdE.”

 

Fell snorted.

 

“you’ve really never been here before, huh?”

 

Blueberry chose not to answer, instead looking around at the blurry blue glow that surrounded them.

 

Turning back to Fell rather suddenly, he held his hand out and smiled cheerfully.

 

“i’m BLUEBERRY. i nEvER intRodUcEd mYsELf.”

 

Even through his impaired sight, he could see that Fell was reluctant to take his hand.

 

Finally, a hand gripped his own gloved one, and Blueberry grinned.

 

But the second he did, the world shook.

 

With horror, Blueberry realized he knew what was happening.

 

“UndERfELL is faLLing.”

 

Fell ripped his hand away from Blueberry’s and stumbled back. With a very audible snap, he disappeared.

 

Blueberry allowed himself a curse.

 

Running blindly, he found old carved memories of running through Waterfall guiding his steps- across that bridge, leap over that stone, around the small lake, alongside the ice river. And all around him, Underfell crumbled in on itself.

 

He managed to stumble into Snowdin, where it was deathly quiet, even as this world ended.

 

And he saw Fell standing in the middle of the town, staring up at the underground’s sky.

 

Well, ‘saw’ wasn’t the correct word. More of a soul-sense.

 

As he ran towards Fell, he realized he could sense the souls of all the monsters around them, hiding in their homes.

 

But he paid little attention to this, and as Underfell reached it’s final moments, Snowdin began to crack into pieces.

 

“fELL!”

 

Blueberry leapt forward, tackling Fell to the ground, hoping desperately for a miracle.

 

But as he held the other skeleton close, his consciousness faded.

  
And Underfell shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go
> 
> I'll update in a few hours with the next one-
> 
> Since that's the NEW ONE WOOHOO WE CAUGHT UP YAY


	21. 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I guess ink and error go hang out in undertale haha

Ink had fallen to his knees in the snow, his hands covering his face. Sobs wracked his small body, and Error was completely at loss for what to do.

 

He could barely handle Blueberry crying in the anti-void. That felt like so long ago.

 

Getting closer seemed like a good idea. Last time he did that, Blueberry had stopped.

 

Error walked over to Ink’s side, the snow crunching beneath his feet, the icy puppet in his hand sending a weird chill up his arm. Other than that, he didn’t feel anything from it.

 

At least Underfell wasn’t falling quite yet.

 

Error sat in the snow by Ink’s side, but he didn’t think the other noticed.

 

“ink?” He asked quietly. He got no response, other than the small sounds of crying.

 

Tentatively, Error poked Ink’s shoulder. It was the slightest touch, but Ink looked up, his face stained with tears.

 

Error offered him the puppet.

 

The small doll was damp with melted snow, but Ink snatched it and held it close, his breaths shakey.

 

“Th-thanks.”

 

Ink had stopped crying, but he held the puppet close, still seemingly on the verge of tears.

 

“Error? Do you know something I like about you?”

 

Error stayed silent, mostly out of shock. Ink gave him a small smile, wiping his face clear of tears.

 

“You always surprise me.”

 

The world around them shook violently.

 

Ink’s expression changed to horror, and he looked like he was about to start crying again.

 

“No…”

 

“ink, wE havE tO lEavE bEfoRE it’s tOO latE.”

 

“But what about Blue?” Ink worried, standing and nearly falling over again as the world gave another violent shake.

 

“hE’ll bE Okay. wE havE tO gO, nOw!”

 

Ink hesitantly took Error’s outstretched hand, and immediately, they disappeared from Underfell.

 

... 

 

They roughly hit the ground of another universe. Neither of them fell, but both had to squint around in surprise.

 

It was sunny.

 

They were standing on top of a mountain, looking out over the surface. A large forest spread out in front of them, a large town just across the trees. The sun shone brightly against the buildings, lighting them up in a dazzling display.

 

In Ink’s hand, the doll disintegrated into dust.

 

A soft wind blew over them, the dust whisked away by the breeze.

 

“it’s...”

 

Error couldn’t breath, he couldn’t think. He didn’t even register Ink’s hand still in his, the beauty of the surface striking them both speechless.

 

“this is undERtalE...”

 

~~~~

 

Ink tightened his grip on Error’s hand, taking in the entire scene before them with absolute awe. He felt a spark of inspiration, to do what, he wasn’t sure, but it felt exhilarating.

 

“Error, let’s go find Sans.” Ink spoke, excitement lacing his voice. It was hard to tear his eyes away from the mountain view, but he looked over at Error, surprised to see excitement in the other’s gaze.

 

Error actually gave him a wide grin, and they disappeared from the mountaintop.

 

They reappeared in front of a strikingly familiar house.

 

“Come on!” Ink pulled his hand from Error’s and ran to the door, knocking loudly.

 

By the time Error caught up to him, the door flew open, a tall skeleton greeting them with a beaming smile.

 

“Papyrus!”

 

“HELLO SMALL SKELETONS!” The wide grin never left Papyrus’s face, though that could’ve been because-... well,  skeleton .

 

“hey paps, who’s at the door?” A shout came from inside, and Papyrus turned to shout back.

 

“TWO SKELETONS! THEY, UM…” Papyrus paused, turning back to face them. “EXCUSE ME, BUT WHAT ARE YOUR NAMES?”

 

Ink answered, jumpy excitement rushing through him.

 

“I’m Ink, he’s Error.”

 

Behind Papyrus, another skeleton peeked at them from inside the house. He pushed past his brother and stood in front of them.

 

“OH, HELLO SANS! THIS IS INK AND ERROR!”

 

Ink felt his eyes start changing rapidly, and he promptly vomited ink on Sans’s slippers.

 

“... ok.” Sans shrugged, leaning down and pulling his ink-soaked slippers off. “i’m gonna go throw these in the laundry room.”

 

“SANS, DO NOT ACTUALLY THROW THEM!”

 

Ink could feel himself blushing, pulling his scarf up to cover his face in embarrassment. He muttered countless apologies he was sure only Papyrus could hear now that Sans had walked back inside.

 

He became aware of Error staring at him in a mix of confusion and curiosity.

 

“YOU MAY COME INSIDE, INK AND ERROR! I MUST GO MAKE SURE SANS PROPERLY PLACED HIS SLIPPERS IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM!” Papyrus skipped back inside, leaving the two skeletons on the doorstep.

 

Error narrowed his eyes at Ink, that same confused expression on his face, looking like he was trying hard to figure something out.

 

“is that RainbOw On yOuR facE a blush?”

 

Ink didn’t answer, pulling his scarf up even further and striding over the threshold of the house, heading for the couch. He assumed Error followed him, but he didn’t know for sure until the other sat down next to him. They could hear Papyrus yelling at Sans from somewhere in the house.

 

“... ink, aRE yOu Okay?”

 

Ink jumped in surprise at the question. It wasn’t so much being asked the question, just that it came from Error.

 

“W-why do you ask?” Ink pulled his scarf down a little, glancing nervously at Error.

 

Error shrugged, looking everywhere but Ink.

 

“wEll, this is pREtty much thE last univERsE lEft. i mEan...” Error pulled his feet up on the couch, staring down at them. “it’s Exciting tO mEEt thE ORiginals, but what happEns nExt? dOEs thE vOid cOnsumE thE ORiginal tOO? will wE just stay hERE until...”

 

Error sniffled, lifting his arm to his face and pressing it against his eyes.

 

“i didn’t think thE End wOuld bE likE this.”

 

Ink watched Error break down crying, unsure of what to do. He reached out, tentatively resting his hand on Error’s shoulder. Error jumped, lowering his arm and staring at Ink with unbidden tears in his eyes.

 

“This won’t be the end.” Ink scooted closer, locking his gaze to Error’s. “We’ll figure this out, and we’ll find a way to restore everything.”

 

Error’s gaze flicked down before sliding back up, blue tears held in his eyes.

 

“what if i want it tO bE diffEREnt?” He whispered.

 

Ink leaned in close.

 

“I don’t think you do.”

 

Error closed his eyes, breathing shakily.

 

Ink allowed his eyes to flicker shut, leaning in closer-

 

“WE’RE BACK!” Papyrus kicked open a hidden door next to the T.V., standing there triumphantly.

 

Ink jumped violently, scrambling away from Error and falling off the couch with a startled yelp.

 

“OH, I’M SORRY! DID I STARTLE YOU, FRIEND INK?” Papyrus rushed over and picked Ink up off the ground, gently setting him on his feet.

 

“N-no, sorry, Papyrus. I’m okay.” Ink looked up and gave Papyrus a smile, who in turn smiled back.

 

“hey, paps, it’s nearly noon.” Sans spoke suddenly from behind Papyrus, staring directly at Ink.

 

“OH! PERFECT! I’LL GO MAKE SOME SPAGHETTI FOR LUNCH!” Papyrus dodged around Sans and ran into the kitchen, starting to clatter around.

 

Sans had watched Papyrus leave the room, but now that his brother was gone, he turned back to face Ink and Error.

 

“let’s just get to the point.” Sans’s left eye sparked blue, but he didn’t make any other movement.

  
“who are you, and why are you in the alpha timeline?”


	22. 21

It was dark.

 

It was dark and warm though.

 

He became aware that he was holding someone tight against himself, but they didn't seem to be struggling or moving at all.

 

Whoever it was though, was warm.

 

He snuggled closer against this mystery person, his mind cloudy, unfocused, and not even thinking about why he was still alive.

 

Wait a minute.

 

Blueberry’s eyes snapped open, and all at once everything came back. He was snuggled up against Fell, who was currently unconscious, on a dark floor, surrounded by a void of black.

 

“fELL? fELL, wakE Up.” He poked at Fell’s face, squeaking in surprise when Fell only pulled him closer.

 

“... mmm... five more minutes, paps...” Fell moaned in his sleep, arms wrapped tight around Blueberry. 

 

“fELL, gEt Up!” Blueberry attempted to free his arms, but Fell seemed determined to cuddle him. “YoU’RE haRdER to wakE Up than papY.” He grumbled to himself, reluctantly giving up and letting the other hold him close.

 

Blueberry was just starting to doze off again when Fell opened his eyes.

 

“what the hell?!”

 

Blueberry was shoved away, and Fell scrambled to his feet.

 

“what the fuck were you doing?!”

 

“mE? YoU’RE thE onE who- YoU know what, nEvERmind. i jUst want to know whERE wE aRE.”

 

Blueberry stood, instinctively dusting imaginary dust off his pants.

 

“what happened?” Fell asked, glancing around the black void of emptiness.

 

“YoUR UnivERsE was dEstRoYEd, BUt i havE no idEa how wE got to whEREvER this is.”

 

“this is the Void.” Fell spoke blankly, before choosing a direction and starting to walk.

 

“h-hEY, wait!” Blueberry rushed after Fell, trying to fall into step with him. “how do YoU know that?”

 

“how do you not?” Fell scoffed. “we go through here when we shortcut. i recognize it.”

 

Blueberry hummed in thought. He remembered someone talking about shortcuts before.

 

He just couldn't- oh!

 

“oh, likE what papY doEs.”

 

“what?” At this, Fell gave a frown of confusion in Blueberry’s direction. “papyrus can't shortcut.”

 

Blueberry was silent for a moment.

 

“mY papYRus coULd.” He countered, swinging his arms freely as he walked, looking around, even though there was nothing to see.

 

“your papyrus could do what?”

 

Blueberry froze- and so did Fell.

 

Neither of them had just spoken.

 

The voice came from behind them.

 

“aw, is that any way to greet a new pal? turn around and s h a k e m y h a n d.”

 

“Christ, that’s terrifying.” Blueberry heard Fell mumble to himself as they turned.

 

“papYRUs?”

 

“sans?!”

 

~~~~

 

Neither Ink or Error moved. Sans’s eye flickered briefly, but it didn't go out.

 

“are ya gonna answer the question? who are you really? why are in the alpha timeline?”

 

Error wasn't sure if he should answer, but Ink seemed to regain enough sense to.

 

“this is probably going to take a lot of explaining.”

 

“nOt if yOu stOp OvERcOmplicating things, ink.” Error huffed impatiently. “wE’RE altERnatEs Of yOu, sans. thE multivERsE is pREtty much gonE. thE alpha timElinE- thE oRiginal- is thE last onE.”

 

“... huh. so we’re down to the bone on this then. i’m going to assume that you want my help somehow, but i can't restore a multiverse.”

 

Error resisted the urge to smile at the pun, and even though Sans couldn't help, it was still hard to do.

 

“wait, wait, frisk might be able to do something.” Sans backtracked, looking thoughtful.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Error noticed Ink’s eyes widen.

 

“what if we reset the whole multiverse?” He spoke, eyes fixed on the floor.

 

Sans recoiled visibly at the word.

 

The smell of burnt boiling spaghetti began to fill the house, and Papyrus actually began singing something in the kitchen that sounded suspiciously like Mettaton music.

 

“yOu want tO cOmplEtEly REstORE ouR multivERsE by  REsEtting it? ”

 

“do you have a better idea?” Ink huffed, turning to face Error.

 

“n-no, you can't RESET, we've been up here for so long.” Sans stuttered, and Error didn't like the look in his eyes. It was broken.

 

“SANS! DO NOT FORGET THAT FRISK IS COMING BY FOR LUNCH SOON!” Papyrus called happily from the kitchen, resuming his cheerful singing after he delivered the reminder.

 

Error met Ink’s gaze again.

 

For the first time since they’d started this journey together, Error found something fading into Ink’s eyes. It was hope.

  
“Okay. lEt’s sEE what thE kid thinks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops did I say Blueberry was dead I meant alive ahahaha


	23. 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink has a lie down

Ink stared down at his plate of burned spaghetti, unsure of whether he should eat it or not. Due to the glares he was getting from Sans, Frisk, and surprisingly, Error, he figured he was supposed to.

 

“WHAT IS WRONG FRIEND INK?” Papyrus asked, his plate already finished.

 

Ink looked up, forcing a smile.

 

“it’s nothing, i’m just... worried.”

 

“ABOUT WHAT, FRIEND INK?”

 

Ink glanced nervously at Frisk, who seemed confused at this.

 

“ Me? ” Frisk pointing to themself.

 

Ink only nodded.

 

“ You worried why? ”

 

Ink noticed Error fidget out of the corner of his eye while he himself played nervously with his gloves.

 

“well, uh...”

 

“hey, paps, why don't you go clean up the kitchen?” Sans spoke, his plate of spaghetti already finished as well.

 

“WELL... ALRIGHT. AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T MAKE ONE OF YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS.” Papyrus announced as he stood and headed into the kitchen.

 

Frisk looked around carefully.

 

“kid, we need to ask you to do something for us.”

 

As Sans explained, Ink glanced nervously over at Error, but instead of being anxious like him, he looked bored.

 

Furious movements caught Ink’s eye, and he turned back to see Frisk signing angrily.

 

“kid, i don't like it anymore than you, but we can't just leave them all hanging.”

 

Frisk huffed silently, crossing their arms and puffing their cheeks out.

 

Ink sighed, standing up.

 

“it’s okay, we’ll find another way.”

 

And before anyone could say anything, he walked out the door.

 

Ink lay in the grass just outside the house, staring up at the sky.

 

He felt so tired, and once he’d laid down, he felt like he could’ve stayed in the grass forever.

 

He became faintly aware of his name being shouted, but he couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't move.

 

“ink!”

 

He was being held by someone, someone was shouting his name.

 

“ink, wakE up!”

 

He couldn't open his eyes.

 

~~~~

 

“papY!” Blueberry shrieked, lunging forward and pulling his brother into a hug.

 

“sans... sans, oh my God.” Papyrus held him close, and Blueberry started crying into his shoulder.

 

“papY, i’vE missEd YoU so mUch.” He sobbed, tightening his hold on the fabric of Papyrus’s orange jacket.

 

“me too, sans… me too.”

 

“hey, uh, yeah, sorry to break up your happy little reunion here, but are you the only other one here?” Fell spoke, looking at Papyrus with, at the very least, curiosity.

 

“n-no. there are others- a whole bunch of us. the whole multiverse is in the Void. at least, that’s what i think by now.”

 

Blueberry wiped at his eyes, pulling his face away from his brother's jacket.

 

“wE wERE Right. wE wERE Right, thE void is coLLapsing aLL thEsE UnivERsEs.” Blueberry looked up at Papyrus with determination. “papY-”

 

“actually, sans, i think it’s probably best if you call me stretch for now. there are a lot of monsters here with the same names.”

 

Blueberry nodded.

 

“okaY, stREtch. wowiE that’s wEiRd. i nEEd to taLk to EvERYonE hERE. i nEEd to know if thERE’s a waY to contact ink and ERRoR.”

 

“well, we’ve been trying to figure out what’s been going on. when we get there you can tell us all at once and then we'll figure that out.”

 

“hey, stretch?” Fell spoke again, surprisingly quiet. “do you know if you've seen my brother?”

 

“huh? oh, you’re from underfell, yeah, Edge is here.”

 

Fell seemed to slump with relief, and Blueberry grinned.

 

“ha, i knEw YoU wEREn’t aLwaYs a mEaniE!”

 

“i’d shut that mouth of yours unless you want to see how big of a ‘meanie' i can be.” Fell snapped, turning away from Blueberry.

 

Stretch’s grip on Blueberry tightened, but Blueberry pulled out of his brother's arms and came up behind Fell, wrapping him into a hug instead.

 

“i know YoU’RE jUst woRRiEd foR him.”

 

Blueberry buried his face into the fluff of Fell’s jacket, smiling as Fell leaned back slightly into the hug.

  
“it’s okaY to caRE.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And oh hey Blue and Fell are in the Void and oh shit Stretch is there oh wow I can't wait to post the next chapter


	24. 23

Error held Ink, the limp body heavy in his arms.

 

“he’s falling down.” Sans’s voice came from behind, but Error didn't bother to look back, instead keeping his gaze on Ink’s lifeless face.

 

“nO... hE can't- hE can't, wE havEn’t EvEn tRiEd tO REsEt yEt- ink, y-yOu can't fall dOwn...”

 

Ink continued to lay limp.

 

A tap on his shoulder made him look up, tears starting to form in his eyes.

 

Frisk stood there, holding something out.

 

Error took it, eyes widening as he realized what it was.

 

Ink’s puppet.

 

‘ whERE did thEy-?’

 

And that was what did it.

 

Error broke, not bothering to stop the tears streaming down his face. He didn't care that Frisk and Sans were there. He didn't care that he was crying.

 

But he hadn't realized how much he cared about Ink.

 

Wiping at his eyes, Error looked up at Frisk, his voice wavering more than usual.

 

“kid, wE’RE dOing this, Right nOw.”

 

Frisk nodded, and Error stood, carrying Ink back inside the house.

 

He set the smaller on the couch, tentatively raising a hand and setting it on the other’s cheekbone.

 

That was what Frisk and Sans walked into.

 

Frisk had already pulled out the RESET button, staring at it with a disguised hate.

 

They gathered around the couch, where Ink lay.

 

But before Frisk could even raise their arm, Error put his shaking hand on the child’s shoulder.

 

“kid, i’m nOt EntiREly suRE, but i dOn’t think yOu can dO this On yOuR Own.”

 

Frisk looked up at Error, the trembling hand on the shoulder setting a weight on the child.

 

Unsure of what he was doing, Error's hand began to glow with blue magic, channeling itself into Frisk.

 

Frisk gasped, the button in front of them changing words.

 

REBOOT

 

Sans caught on, placing his hand on Frisk’s other shoulder and channeling his own magic.

 

RESTORE

 

Frisk’s face was beaded with sweat, and they raised their hand to hit the button.

 

“wait-!”

 

~~~~

 

He wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but Fell had let him hold onto his hand while they walked through the Void.

 

Blueberry giggled as Fell’s grip on his hand tightened, his older brother walking in front and leading the way.

 

When they caught sight of the group, Blueberry couldn't help but gawk.

 

There were thousands of monsters here, he might even venture to say millions.

 

Stretch walked through the group casually, pointing out some monsters and leaving a few others out.

 

“there’s Geno, he’s been here the longest. there’s Sunny, he’s from Fusiontale. there’s Pixel, Outer, Death, Occult, Mytho, Specter and hey Fell, there’s your brother.”

 

At the mention of Edge, Fell straightened, wrenching his hand from Blueberry’s and looking around.

 

“papyrus!” Fell yelped suddenly, running off and disappearing into the crowd of monsters.

 

Blueberry reached futilely after him, putting his hand down when he realized Fell was gone.

 

“s-stretch!” A nervous looking Sans in a labcoat and glasses skidded to a stop in front of Blueberry's brother.

 

“hey sci. this is my brother, blueberry.”

 

“n-nice to meet you, but we have a situation and i think you’d better come see.”

 

As Sci led them through the crowd, Blueberry found himself clutching onto the back of his brother’s orange sweatshirt.

 

He could... He could sense the souls all around him.

 

That one was from Horrortale- that one from UnderOblivion, Swapfell, Fruittale, Sugartale, Underspirit, Dusttale, Underlust, Dancetale, Undertone... Countless more were here, the entirety of the multiverse was here in the Void.

 

“s’cuse us, s-sorry-”

 

Blueberry’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open and tears gathering to his eyes.

 

“ ink ?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I had to get a couple of mentions in-
> 
> Aftertale and Geno, as well as Spectertale to- loverofpiggies
> 
> Fusiontale to- nomidot
> 
> Pixeltale to- mercury-draws-shitz [pixeljirachi]
> 
> Outertale to- 2mi127
> 
> Reapertale to- renrink
> 
> Occulttale to- Occulttale [dork <3]
> 
> Horrortale to- Sour-Apple-Studios
> 
> UnderOblivion to- GallifreyanChild
> 
> Fruittale to- MissLadyTale
> 
> Sugartale to- Sugartale
> 
> UnderSpirit to- haleyislametbh
> 
> Dusttale to- ask-dusttale
> 
> Underlust to- nsfwshamecave [18+ blog]
> 
> Dancetale to- teaandstars
> 
> Undertone to- articray200
> 
> Swapfell and Science Sans [Sci] belong to the fandom
> 
> And Mythotale is mine <3


	25. 24

“ _ink_!” Blueberry flew forwards through the crowd surrounding his friend, throwing his arms around the other in a hug.

 

Ink laughed, hugging Blueberry back.

 

When Blueberry pulled himself from the hug, he noticed something.

 

“ink, whY aRE YoU sEE-thRoUgh?”

 

The transparent, fading image of Ink raised an arm and scratched sheepishly at the back of his skull.

 

“Well I think I'm here, but at the same time, I'm not _fully_ here? Last I remember, Error and I went to the original timeline-”

 

A series of whispers broke out in the crowd of monsters around them.

 

“-and I fell asleep in the grass? I think I'm falling down.”

 

Blueberry grasped Ink’s hand in his own, eyes wide.

 

“ERRoR’s alonE in UndERtaLE?”

 

“Yes, but we think we figured out a way to revive the multiverse. I thought maybe the original Frisk could RESET everything, but then I realized something else.” Ink explained. “Frisk can't do it alone. They need our magic. They need my magic- Oh my God, I'm not there!”

 

Ink looked up at Blueberry, panic in his eyes.

 

“If I'm not there, Frisk will RESET and Error will cease to exist.”

 

The whispers grew louder.

 

“i-i think i know a way to send you back!” Sci shoved through the crowd, a hopeful smile on his face. “y-you aren't here physically, but you’re tangible, which means we can channel our magic to your body. if we can build up enough magic, we may be able to reverse the process of falling down, but it is incredibly risky and could possibly kill you as well. but if successful, we may be able to revive you and send you back on our magic alone, but there’s no telling what happens afterwards.”

 

Ink looked hopeful.

 

“Do it. Everyone needs to help. If we can revive the multiverse back to the way it was before the Void overflowed, I’ll gladly give my life. I'll gladly give my life for you all.”

 

~~~~

 

“ink?”

 

Error stared in shock at the artist, who had grabbed his hand. His entire body was glowing with magic, his eyes a myriad of colors, flashing rapidly between different shapes and colors.

 

“Quick, Frisk!” Ink sent magic through his link with Error, and the button changed once again.

 

R E V I V E

 

Frisk slammed their hand down on the button, and immediately, the world lifted up, breaking into code, reviving the universes that had spawned off of it. The world around them began to glow brightly with white, gradating into colors of the rainbow.

 

Error never took his eyes off of Ink, whose glowing aura was fading. He looked up and met Error’s eyes.

 

“I’m glad I got to meet you, Error. The real you.” Ink smiled, and Error became dimly aware that Ink was fading away.

 

“nO...” Error whispered. “nO, ink, y-yOu... yOu can’t-”

 

Ink pulled Error into a hug.

 

“I’ll miss you...”

 

Furious, Error pulled back.

 

 

Then, he pulled Ink toward him and pushed their teeth together in a kiss.

 

 

If he’d had the excess magic, Ink would have blushed immediately.

 

“Error...?” Ink breathed, glancing up at him with the ever changing eyes of his that were fading into white. They stayed stuck on a circle, white orbs that looked strangely wrong on him.

 

Error sniffled.

 

“this isn't thE End, yOu rainbOw asshOlE. i’ll... i’ll find a way.”

 

Ink smiled, the last of his emotions shining on his face.

 

“I know you will.”

  
  


And then he was gone.

  
  


Error found himself in the anti-void.

  
  
  
And he _cried_.


	26. 25

He opened his eyes.

 

What had he been doing before this?

 

Standing, he looked around, though there was nothing to see but darkness.

 

Shrugging, he pulled his paintbrush off his back, escaping through a brushstroke of paint.

 

Settling back in the Doodle Sphere, he looked up at the many doors that were spread around, floating freely.

 

He smiled.

 

These universes were his.

 

And he would not stand for their destruction.

 

He was theirs.

 

They were his.

 

They belonged to each other.

 

He called a door close, pressing a hand against it and allowing himself to travel away.

 

Stars greeted him.

 

Laughing lightly to himself, he walked beneath them, completely lost in their shine.

 

Why would someone ever want to be rid of something so beautiful?

 

The thought made him think of another.

 

He felt a pressure on his conscience, something he was forgetting, something he didn't remember.

 

Humming uncomfortably, he pulled his eyes from the stars, glancing down at his hands.

 

For a moment, he could imagine them being held by held by another.

 

Although this was strange, and he wanted to know more, he wanted to know what he’d forgotten, he forced himself to push it away.

 

Maybe he’d go visit another universe.

 

Maybe he’d go talk to Blue, or Dream.

 

Another part of him wanted to stay away, to be alone.

 

But if he were alone, he'd be alone with his thoughts. And that thought alone terrified him.

 

Maybe he'd visit Blue after all.

 

Yeah, that's what he'd do. He hadn't seen Blue in so long- it'd be great to see him again.

 

He'd go to Underswap.

 

~~~~

 

It was over.

 

The journey they’d taken was finally over.

 

But what was the point if Ink was dead?

 

And even though the multiverse was back to normal, _Blue wasn't_.

 

Blue was still an error.

 

Papyrus was getting used to it, and they were slowly slipping back into a normal life routine, but it set him on edge.

 

What would he lose the next time he crashed?

 

It scared him, but he continued to act his part, smiling and laughing, and being the cheerful little brother.

 

But now, when he was alone, he could let himself free.

 

Blue sighed, adjusting the glasses that sat on his face. Undyne had made them for him as soon as they’d gotten their universe back, and he was relieved to be able to see again.

 

Papyrus was out on patrol, but Blue was absolutely certain that he was sleeping at his sentry station again.

 

He curled up into a ball on the couch, in the comfortable warmth of his home, and let his thoughts run away.

 

He tried not to cry. He really did.

 

He hadn't seen Error ever since the multiverse was revived. And the last time he’d seen Ink, he was glowing with the power they gave him, the power that sent him to his death.

 

But he’d sacrificed himself for them.

 

Blue sniffled, wiping hastily at his eyes. Ink wouldn't want him to cry, would he?

 

He wouldn't, then.

 

He wouldn't, for his friend.

  
He ended up crying anyway.


	27. 26

The white void pressed in around him, and for the first time, the white seemed too _suffocating_.

 

He was trying so hard to keep his emotions under control, but sometimes, he couldn't help but sit down and cry.

 

He hadn't bothered to go see Blueberry since everything had returned.

 

He clutched tighter at the small puppet that lay in his hand. Tears fell, staining the magical fabric, and he tried to turn his head away, but he _couldn't_ , he didn't want to, he wanted to keep Ink’s face in his memory for as long as he could.

 

He knew he’d forget.

 

Someday, he’d crash again, and he’d lose the memories he had of the artist.

 

Just like that, Ink never would have existed.

 

And Error didn't want to forget, he wanted so _badly_ to see Ink again, to rest his hands over the artist's, to talk to him and hear his voice again.

 

Ink was dead, wasn't he?

 

_“this isn't thE End, yOu rainbOw asshOlE. i’ll find a way.”_

 

But hadn't he made a promise?

 

A promise to the artist, dying, and so ready to become something more, and if only he weren't _gone_.

 

“what havE yOu dOnE tO mE?” Error sobbed, wiping the never ending tears from his eyes. “hOw cOuld yOu makE mE fEEl?”

 

Error hugged the doll to his heaving chest, cool tears rushing down his flushed face.

 

“hOw cOuld yOu...”

 

Once again, the color white started to press in around him, and he sobbed, trying to at least gather his thoughts enough to leave this suffocating place.

 

Standing shakily, Error opened a portal, not even caring where he went, he just wanted to be away from here.

 

Away and alone.

 

~~~~

 

_“what havE yOu dOnE tO mE?”_

 

Ink jumped, stopping in the snow of Underswap.

 

That was strange.

 

Where did that voice come from?

 

Frowning in confusion, he continued walking, only to stop once again and whirl around.

 

_“hOw cOuld yOu makE mE fEEl?”_

 

He was tempted to call out, but he kept his voice to himself.

 

Wherever this voice was coming from, it had to be in his head. There was no echo in the surrounding forest, after all.

 

He could only wonder who the voice belonged to.

 

 _“hOw cOuld yOu...”_ The voice broke off with a sob, and Ink really wanted to find whoever this was and assure them that it would be okay.

 

Well, he felt stupid doing it, but...

 

 _“ are you okay?”_ He tried pushing a thought at the voice. Maybe it would respond.

 

It didn't.

 

Ink sighed, continuing his walk to Blue’s house.

 

It was funny though.

 

He felt like he should have recognized that voice.

 

Coming into Snowdin, he was greeted with strange looks. It was disconcerting, but he shrugged it off and went straight to Blue’s house.

 

He hesitated before knocking though.

 

What was he _forgetting_?

 

It bit insistently at the back of his conscious, but he couldn't remember, there was too much that had never happened.

 

Pushing it away, Ink knocked on the door.

 

The one who answered though, was not who he was expecting.

 

A blackened, orange, purple, and blue themed skeleton opened the door, his eyes widening when they set on him.

  
“i-ink? is that REaLLY YoU?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost done


	28. 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait
> 
> I lost inspiration and writer's block beat me up
> 
> But hey, I managed to find my lost inspiration, so here, have a chapter with a very confused Ink and a crying Blue

In all honesty, Blue probably would have done exactly the same thing.

 

But when Ink yelped and backed away, Blue couldn't help but feel a little hurt.

 

Ink...

 

Ink was alive.

 

So even though the other seemed apprehensive of him, Blue jumped forward and pulled Ink into a hug.

 

“ink, YoU’RE aLivE, YoU... YoU’RE okaY!”

 

“Um, yeah? Always been alive.”

 

Blue felt himself tearing up, and he pulled away, wiping at his eyes.

 

“i’m soRRY, i jUst can't-”

 

“Stars, Blue.” Ink breathed.

 

Blue looked up at the artist, who was gazing at him, taking in every detail of his errored appearance.

 

“Stars, what happened to you?”

 

For a moment, Blue froze, his soul quivering. He sounded as if he’d never seen Blue like this before, but he had, he _had_.

 

“what? YoU know what happEnEd.” His voice held a playful edge to it, maybe Ink was just joking with him. Yeah, he had to be.

 

“... Did Error have something to do with this? I bet he did, the bastard. You look almost exactly like him.”

 

Blue stared at Ink, shocked. He couldn't help but tear up again.

 

“YoU don’t REmEmBER.”

 

“Um, Blue?”

 

“YoU don't REmEmBER? YoU don’t REmEmBER all thREE of Us going to sUgaRswap, or UndERtonE, or UndERfELL? showing Us thE doodLE sphERE? how YoU savEd EvERYonE?” His voice started to waver, and his tears escaped, falling slowly down the blackened bone.

 

Ink now looked concerned, and he reached out, recoiling when Blue started to shake.

 

“Blue, I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you feeling okay?”

 

“i’m finE, BUt YoU aREn’t! YoU don't...” Blue sobbed, burying his face into his gloves. He felt Ink's hand on his shoulder, and he gave another loud sob.

 

“Blue, what's going on?”

 

Blue raised his face to look up at Ink, an idea rising through his scattered thoughts. He could help! He could help Ink regain his memories, and then Ink would be okay!

 

“i’LL show YoU!” He shouted gleefully.

 

~~~~

 

What was Blue talking about, not remembering?

 

If this even was Blue.

 

But it was, he looked and acted like Blue, this was his universe, and something told him that this was his friend. He still felt uneasy though, with just how much he looked like Error.

 

Error had done something to him.

 

How had he missed that?

 

Some protector he was.

 

Shaken from his thoughts by a pull on his hand, Ink watched Blue open a universal portal, pulling him through it. Since when could Blue do that?

 

Their surroundings hadn't changed much, but Ink could feel that they were definitely in another universe.

 

“Is this Sugarswap, Blue?”

 

“YEs! REmEmBER? aftER i... accidEntaLLY dEstRoYEd mY UnivERsE, wE camE hERE! YoU, mYsELf, and ERRoR tOO!”

 

Ink made a noise of confusion, frowning. If what Blue was saying was true, why in the Multiverse had they come here? With Error, of all monsters?

 

“YoU wERE UnconscioUs, so ERRoR BRokE into aLtERnatE mE and aLtERnatE papYRUs’s hoUsE. it was his idEa, BEcausE YoU wERE appaREntLY in a Lot of pain and that’s whY YoU wERE UnconscioUs. hE said YoU nEEdEd REst.”

 

“... Error did that?”

 

Blue hummed in confirmation, waving to two monsters some distance away. One of them charged, throwing his arms around Ink in a hug.

 

“INK! YOU’RE OKAY! I KNEW YOU WOULD BE!” Sugarswap Sans shouted, laughing his signature laugh.

 

Ink untangled himself from Sugarberry’s arms, giving him a confused half smile.

 

“Yes? I'm fine.”

 

Sugarswap Papyrus wasn't far behind. In fact, Ink didn't even notice he was standing there until he cleared his nonexistent throat.

 

“looks like you’re okay. most of us thought you’d died, buddy. glad to see you’re doing fine.” Honey spoke, pulling the candy cane out of his mouth and holding it between two fingers. Sugarberry gasped, his eyes changing into stars.

 

“PAPY YOU WENT A WHOLE THREE SENTENCES WITHOUT A SINGLE PUN I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!”

 

He then wrapped his brother in a hug, the taller skeleton giving a little chuckle and patting the top of the other’s head.

 

“it was nicE to sEE YoU Both again, BUt ink and i havE to go! wE’RE on anothER mission!”

 

Sugarberry turned, his eyes filled with awe.

 

“REALLY?!” He gasped, jumping up and down.

 

“YEp! pRomisE i’LL tELL YoU aBoUt it nExt timE!”

 

Sugarberry then hugged Blue, then hugged Ink one last time for good measure.

 

“BYE! BE SUPER SAFE AND GOOD LUCK!”

 

Sugarberry then rushed away, shouting for Honey to follow. The taller skeleton began to follow, but he stopped for a moment, looking back at Ink and Blue.

 

“he really looks up to you both. good luck on your mission.”

 

Honey gave them a lazy smile, turning fully to follow his brother this time. With a small whooshing noise, he was gone.

 

Blue glanced over at Ink, the next portal open and ready.

  
“to UndERtonE!”


	29. 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S BEEN TEN YEARS

_“are you okay?”_

 

Error looked up from the ground and around the anti-void. He knew that voice.

 

But he didn't dare answer.

 

He tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from.

 

Outerswap?

 

No, no it was Underswap.

 

The voice had come from Underswap.

 

That was new. None of the voices that had spoken to him before had ever had a source. But then again, he’d never recognized any of the voiced before.

 

Still, he didn't speak, trying to decide what to do.

 

He could stay here.

 

Or he could go see for himself if... Ink was really in Underswap.

 

If it was even Ink at all.

 

He looked down at the puppet of Ink in his hands.

 

Well, it wasn't like he was doing anything anyways.

 

So he stood, clutching the puppet tightly, and opened a portal right into Blue’s living room.

 

“bluEbERRy?” He called out, stepping through, and Stretch poked his head out of the kitchen.

 

“hey Error. you just missed him. went out somewhere.”

 

“Oh.” Error shifted in place. He hadn't really ever had a good past with Stretch. Should he stay or should he leave?

 

“dO yOu knOw whERE hE wEnt?”

 

Stretch shrugged.

 

“nope.”

 

“Oh.”

 

When Error continued to stand there awkwardly, Stretch sighed and plodded out of the kitchen, slumping into the couch. He patted the spot next to him.

 

“c’mon sit down.”

 

Error frowned.

 

“uhh...”

 

“i don't bite, buddy.”

 

At Stretch’s repeated invitation, Error tentatively sat on the edge of the couch.

 

“so, what’s buggin’ you?”

 

A part of Error was half tempted to answer. The other part wanted to scoff and leave, and go back to moping.

 

“i mean, this is the first time you’ve shown your face since, well, the big shenanigan. blue’d be ecstatic to see ya.”

 

“thE big shEnanigan?” Error repeated sourly, a look similar to disbelief on his face. Stretch looked proud of himself.

 

“yeah i know, it's such a cool name!”

 

“whatEvER.” Error rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms, an effective pouting posture. When Stretch said nothing, he looked back to see the other monster rifling through his pockets in search of something.

 

“aha, here they are. want one?”

 

If Error had a nose to wrinkle, it would be. Instead he had to settle for a disgusted look at the pack of cigarettes Stretch was offering.

 

“nO.”

 

Stretch shrugged, lit one for himself, and sighed into the couch.

 

“anyways, what was i… oh yeah, why are you showing up all of a sudden? what dragged you out of that white hell?”

 

“... ink.” Error pulled his feet up on the couch so he could sit with them crossed. Stretch sat up.

 

“Ink’s back?”

 

“that's thE thing. i dOn’t knOw.”

 

“hmm.” Stretch puffed. “well you couldn't mope forever. if he’s actually back, you should probably find him.”

 

“that’s... actually why i camE hERE. i thOught i fElt ink hERE, but whatEvER it was is gOnE nOw.”

 

Error sighed.

 

“i dOn't want... tO bE alOnE anymORE.”

 

“then go find him.”

 

Error stood, opened a portal, and left.

 

~~~~

 

“UndERtonE!” Blue announced gleefully, spreading his arms wide.

 

Ink glanced around him at the empty judgement hall.

 

“Blue, what.”

 

“i was UnconscioUs foR most of thE timE wE spEnt hERE.” Blue strode forward confidently. Ink walked calmly behind, albeit confused.

 

“Uh?”

 

“YEah, i lost most of mY sight hERE too.” Blue stood in the middle of the hall and put his hands on his hips.

 

“Blue, seriously, let’s just go back to Underswap.”

 

“no, YoU nEEd to know! i’m hELping! this is whERE YoU and ERRoR finaLLY staRtEd gEtting aLong. it’s aLso whERE i got this cRack on mY facE.”

 

Ink scoffed.

 

“Blue, I highly doubt Error and I would ever get along, but okay. I think it’s time to go home, alright? You can’t possibly be feeling well. Maybe we can get some help and figure out the whole “error” thing.”

 

Blue glanced over his shoulder with a pout.

 

“i fEEL finE ink! BEsidEs, it’s YoU who nEEds hELp!”

 

Ink opened his mouth to protest as Blue flounced forward, shutting it when Blue picked something up off the ground.

 

“hEY! it’s Back!”

 

Despite his annoyance at being here in the first place, Ink walked over to satiate his curiosity at what exactly “it” was.

 

In Blue’s orange gloved hand lay a small puppet, and Ink recognized it as an Undertone Sans.

 

“Blue. What. Is that.”

 

“it’s a pUppEt, ink. comE on.”

 

“Duh, I meant why does it exist. Why is it here.”

 

“ERRoR madE it! thoUgh i don’t know whY it showEd Up hERE. shoULdn’t it havE gonE Back to thE anti-void?”

 

Ink blinked.

 

 _“Um?_ How should I know? _I didn’t even know Error made puppets?”_

 

“YEah! hE’s BEEn making thEm foR a Long timE. hUh. i nEvER REaLLY thoUght aBoUt it, BUt i think hE was tRYing to makE onE foR EvERY au.”

 

Blue looked down at the puppet again.

 

“maYBE hE’s looking foR thEm. maYBE that’s why noBody’s sEEn him.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, cool. Error makes puppets?”

 

“YEs ink wE’vE bEEn ovER this. But it’s actUaLLY kind of cooL, BEcaUsE hE can sEnsE a UnivERsE’s staBiLitY thRoUgh its pUppEt.”

 

Ink shuffled his feet, feeling stupid about a question he hadn't even asked yet.

 

“Did he make one of me?” He blurted out.

 

Blue looked up, smiling.

 

“YEah, hE did. i havE no idEa whERE it coULd BE thoUgh. maYBE thE doodLE sphERE? oR maYBE it’s in thE void. oR thE anti-void.”

 

“So wait, what about the puppets that don't have universes. What then?”

 

Blue shrugged,

 

“i don’t know. i BaRELY UndERstand thE whoLE staBiLitY sEnsing.”

 

“Do you think the connection goes both ways?”

 

Blue shrugged, and let out a surprised yelp when Ink snatched the Undertone Sans puppet out of his hand.

 

It was expertly made, even he could see that. Though he didn't feel anything from the universe. Or Error.

 

Maybe it only worked for Error. Error wasn't even here, yet he still managed to piss Ink off. He clenched the puppet in his fist.

  
“Blue, we have to find Error. I have questions and they need answers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah uh
> 
> we're getting to the end slowly but surely
> 
> pls bear with me


	30. 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunion.

“woah, hEy ink i fEEL LikE this is a LittLE too much!”  
  
Ink had stormed into another universe, and upon checking the code, tried another, and another, and another.

 

“No, Blue, I have to find him. He’s got some _shit_ he needs to answer for me.” Ink snapped, eyes flickering red, before he turned back and jumped into another universe.

 

“what makEs YoU think ERRoR knows what YoU want to know? noBodY’s sEEn him sincE thE mULtivERsE coLLapsEd!”

 

Ink froze, his hand still up to check the code. He looked back at Blue, who stared back.

 

“ _What_.”

 

“thE mULtivERsE coLLapsEd, ink. YoU and ERRoR savEd it, YoU BRoUght it back. YoU Both REcREatEd EvERYthing.”

 

The wind blew around them, silence almost ringing off of snowy trees.

 

Ink turned to face Blue completely.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“i am not a liaR.”

 

“There is no way that Error of all monsters would recreate the multiverse, willingly, with me. On top of the fact that I don't remember a single thing you’ve told me at all.”

 

Blue sighed, reaching up and rubbing at the two orange streaks across his face.

 

“i don’t know whY. BUt it happEnEd. nEithER YoU oR ERRoR havE BEEn sEEn sincE. most of thE mULtivERsE thinks YoU’RE dEad.”

 

“It didn't happen!” Ink’s voice rose with each word, and his eyes flashed between different colors and shapes. He sounded hysterical. “I've been here the whole time, that didn't happen! You’re just... You’re confused, Error did something to you, but that did not happen. Now just shut up and help me find him so he can fix you at least! Please Blue!”

 

Blue just stared. He was quite honestly lost for words.

 

“ink…” He managed to get out in a low voice, “YoU can ask anYonE. that is what happEnEd.”

 

“No, it’s not, Blue!” Ink shrieked, eyes changing wildly, before something seemed to click, and he murmured, “It’s Error’s fault, Error did this, I need to... I need to find him, I need answers, the multiverse did not collapse, it didn’t, I’d be dead if it did, and I’m not dead.”

 

Blue watched Ink mutter to himself, repeating the same thing over and over, and he took a deep breath.

 

“ink?”  


Ink focused on him again, and he placed a hand on the other’s shoulder.

 

“LEt’s find ERRoR.”

 

Ink nodded quickly, and turned around, ready to create another portal.

 

“Yes, thank you, Blue, let’s find Error, force him to fix whatever he did to you, get some answers, and then maybe we can just hang out like we used to.”  
  
“wait, can’t wE find him thRoUgh thE doodLE sphERE?”

 

Ink flinched, turning back to stare at Blue again.

 

“Um, how do you know about the Doodle Sphere?”

 

“wELL, YoU took ERRoR and i thERE whEn wE wERE tRying to- YoU know what nEvERmind, LEt’s jUst go now pLEasE.”

 

Ink blinked, and then, without saying a word, opened a portal to the Doodle Sphere.

 

~~~~

 

Error stared up at the gold of the Doodle Sphere.

 

“if yOu cOuld hElp mE find ink, that’d bE appREciatEd.”

 

The Doodle Sphere didn't answer.

 

He didn't know why he expected it to.

 

He sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

 

“ink, whERE aRE yOu?”

 

_‘... Who are you?’_

 

Error perked up. He closed his eyes and tried to trace where the voice had come from.

 

But the Doodle Sphere didn't seem to want to let him.

 

“dammit... wORk with mE hERE!” He shouted up at the golden domain, and again received no answer. He clenched the doll tighter in his fist.

 

“plEasE… i pROmisEd him… plEasE hElp mE find him.”

 

No answer.

 

Despite himself, he felt tears come to his eyes. Even if he could find Ink, was he ready to see him again?

 

He let a sniffle escape, and then, angry at himself, held in his tears until his chest burned.

 

“dammit. i tOld him i’d find him. i pROmisEd.”

 

“YOU!”

 

At the angry yell, Error turned, hastily wiping at his eyes, only to be whacked in the face. His vision blackened for a moment, and he groaned, clutching his head.

 

“ink! stop it! don’t hURt him!”

 

When his vision cleared and his head stopped ringing, Error looked up to see a spitting mad Ink held back by Blue.

 

Ink.

 

“ink, yOu’RE... yOu’RE alivE.” He felt tears come to his eyes again, and this time he didn't bother to wipe them away. “yOu’RE actually alivE!”

 

“Yes, I’m alive, I always have been, glad we established that.” Ink snapped back, struggling in Blue's hold. “Blue, let me go-!”

 

“YoU’RE not going to hURt him thEn!” Blue demanded, keeping his arms around Ink. After a moment, Ink sighed and fell limp in Blue’s hold.

 

“Fine.”

 

Ink looked up at Error, both eyes flashing red.

 

“But he _will_ answer my questions.”

  
With nothing else to do, Error nodded.


End file.
